


Beautiful Boy

by Gayforkurt



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-05-29 21:51:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 47,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15082478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gayforkurt/pseuds/Gayforkurt
Summary: Boys will be boys and Puck does something that he will live to regret. This is AU as Kurt never left the Cheerios, Karofsky is not a complete douche and never kissed him and Kurt never transferred to Dalton Academy.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Glee Universe except my original works. All rights are reserved by Messrs. Murphy et al and no infringement is intended.

...

HIS eyes changed colors when you least expected them to. Angry – they're the color of the sea, almost slate grey but with a hint of turbulent greenish-blue. Happy – there are flecks of amber embedded in the aquamarine.

Puck was glad that he got the amber more often than he did the grey, like right now.

He took a deep breath and leaned towards the plush pink lips waiting for his touch and watched as the thick lashes lowered slowly.

"Beautiful," he breathed just before their lips made contact and he smiled internally at the flood of pink that suffused the smooth cheeks.

Kurt inhaled when Puck's mouth descended on his, eyes closing and mind reeling at the thought that the sexiest boy in school wanted him.

The fact that they were plastered up against the wall of a deserted hallway didn't impinge on the boys' consciousness. Nothing mattered but taste, heat and touch - and Kurt gasped as Puck nipped his full bottom lip, causing him to open wider. The groan that came as Puck's tongue slid into Kurt's mouth was loud and echoed against the oblivious lockers.

Kurt registered it, though, and it jerked him quickly from the lustful daze that had descended on him at the first touch of Puck's muscular body against his. As it was, he put up a hand to stop Puck from reclaiming his lips and bit back a groan himself as Puck's hard groin pressed into him.

Kurt swallowed hard and ducked his head so that he wouldn't have to watch the way Puck licked his lips as if he could still taste Kurt on them. He cleared his throat but then looked back at Puck with pleading eyes.

"Puck, what- why are you doing this?" Kurt bit his lip, his eyes falling to the middle of Puck's chest as he waited for the other boy to answer him. "Is this… some kind of joke?"

Puck frowned at the way Kurt's voice quivered; he had never seen Kurt afraid, not even when those ass-wipes Karofsky and Azimio used to locker-slam him. Now he hated the thought that, somehow, Kurt was scared of what they had just done.

He took a step back and tried his best to ignore the way Kurt was biting down on that lush lower lip but he knew his eyes were riveted to the other boy's mouth anyway. Shoving his hands into his jeans, the over-sexed jock lowered his head and stared at Kurt, willing the smaller boy to look at him.

To be honest, Puck didn't really want to tell Kurt the real reason he had pursued him from the gym, cornered him and kissed him. Somehow, he knew it would be different with Kurt when he fell in with the other jocks' plan. Now he wished he had just walked away; proving his badassness by taking random dares was just so last year. However, he'd had too much to drink at that stupid party and now he knew he was going to pay for it.

Flashback – two weeks ago:

"Hey, Puckerman, get over here!"

The raucous laughter that followed that command made Puck roll his eyes. Why he'd decided to stop by this lame party that Rick 'The Stick' Nelson had decided to throw tonight, he couldn't say because he definitely could have found something – or someone – better to do on a Saturday night. Now he was here, along with the likes of the Asswipe Twins themselves, Dave Karofsky and Azimio Adams, as well as other members of the school's athletic teams.

Now football players rubbed shoulders with hockey players and a few members of the swim and track teams in the huge house in one of the upscale neighborhoods just outside of Lima. It was a stag party and, therefore, boring to Puck, but he understood the value of 'male bonding', as Miss Pillsbury, their Guidance Counselor, probably would have described it.

"Yo, Puckerman, you still the baddest Lima stud?"

Puck ground his teeth but kept a faint smirk on his otherwise neutral face at the question from one hulking puckhead whose name he couldn't remember – ugh, Ryan, Bryan, whatever – and shrugged as if he didn't care one way or another.

The ensuing catcalls and laughter were supposed to indicate camaraderie but, as usual, there was that undercurrent of cruelty that made up the fabric of life at McKinley High, no, in the whole of Lima, Puck felt. He slid onto one of the vacant seats and took a long pull on his illegal beer.

"Yeah, so what? Is there a MILF I somehow overlooked?"

That brought another round of so-called appreciation from the gathering and Puck only just refrained from rolling his eyes. He looked around for Finn, or even Mike, but it seemed most of the others had gone down to the rec room of the expensive house to play videogames. Puck didn't know how he'd got left upstairs with these idiots but he was stuck for now.

"No, no, dude, not a MILF! There's a Cheerio we believe you haven't screwed yet!"

Puck stared at Nelson, his eyes narrowing as he ran through the list of Cheerios from all the grades and couldn't think of any he'd missed. He raised an eyebrow in imperious demand and then suddenly felt uneasy when Nelson exchanged a sly look with one of the other Puckheads.

"Nope, I think I bagged them all, even though it was a bit of a stretch dealing with some of the freshmen." Puck pretended to smirk when the hyena-like laughter erupted again but the silence that gradually crept on while Nelson smirked back at him had his stomach clenching. He just knew in his bones that, whatever Nelson was going to say next, he was not going to like it.

Nelson swallowed the last of his beer and placed the empty down with exaggerated care before leaning forward, his hands dangling between his knees.

"Oh ho, that's where you're wrong, boyo!" His fake Irish accent did nothing but raise Puck's ire further but he played it cool, shaking his head as he scoffed at the idiot.

Suddenly, Azimio's voice broke the mini stare-down between Puck and Nelson, and Puck turned his head to stare at the huge black jock who was grinning at him.

"Not Hummel, you haven't. You forgot about him!"

More cackling erupted and Puck felt his jaw drop but said a quick prayer, thankful that Finn hadn't been up here to hear that statement. He straightened up and echoed Nelson's actions when he put his beer down.

Puck stared hard at Azimio, noting absently that Karofsky was also staring at his friend with a slightly horrified expression. However, Puck concentrated on glancing between Azimio and Nelson as if they were mad and then he leaned back, affecting a nonchalance he did not feel at all.

"I think you fellas took one too many hits to the head. Hummel's a dude, last time I heard," Puck said slowly, as if talking to people with the IQ of a wet rag. No 'as if' about it, he smirked to himself; these morons had never been his idea of friends, they simply attended the same lame school he did.

Nelson held up his hands as some of the other guys looked at him disbelievingly, wondering where he was going with this. "Hey, hey, the little faggot is barely a dude, the way he dresses… but hey, if it's too much for you, you can always back out."

Now, one of the few buttons Puck had that could successfully be pushed was the one that connected directly to his machismo. Just hint that something was beyond his capabilities and he would do anything to prove otherwise. Tonight was no different and before his common sense could even engage and tell him this was a stupid thing to do, his mouth was in motion.

"Well, now, let's not be hasty, fellas," and he grinned shark-like at the other boys. Some of them still looked a tad uncomfortable with what Nelson had initiated but most of them were grinning as if it was all just a huge game.

Nelson leaned forward and fist-bumped Puck before asking avidly, "So, how are you going to bring him down, King Stud?"

Puck felt a twinge of something but shook it off, taking up his beer again and swigging from it before replying, "Hey, I don't give away trade secrets, dude, it's just not done."

The clowns around him laughed and elbowed each other and Puck shook his head. His eyes clashed with Karofsky's and Puck was certain the jock was only pretending to laugh along with the others. His eyes bored into Puck's with a strange sort of threat but Puck simply shrugged it off.

Puck just knew that the very next comment was going to come from the large junior and yes, sure enough, it did.

Karofsky, his slanted brows drawn low over green eyes, stared at Puck who simply stared back at him challengingly.

"Aren't you afraid you might catch the gay, Puckerman?"

There were a couple of nods and hums of agreement from the others but before Puck could say anything, Nelson broke in.

"Come on, Karofsky! I know Hummel is your and Azimio's personal 'whack-a-mole'," he paused to let the laughter die down before continuing with a smirk, "but you know that's just plain ridiculous, right?"

An almost violent discussion ensued then amongst the half-drunk louts, some spouting half-understood arguments about what constituted gayness or gay behavior and Puck just sat back and tuned them out. What Nelson had said about Kurt had suddenly brought home to him the fact that he had just agreed to maybe the stupidest thing ever.

Kurt was Finn's stepbrother now and Finn was Puck's best friend, despite the rift in their relationship that had appeared when Puck had impregnated Finn's girlfriend, Quinn. They had barely managed to salvage their friendship but now that he had agreed to target Kurt for the amusement of this bunch of jackals, he realized he would be treading on dangerous ground... again.

He was about to tell them that he'd changed his mind when it hit him then that if he did, his status in school would take a definite hit. Nobody backed down from a challenge and maintained his status quo; it was an unwritten rule or something. There was no way he could take it back.

Puck finished his beer just as several of the other players wandered off to wherever, Puck didn't care but he realized he was left alone with just Nelson and the Asswipe Twins. Straightening up, he threw them a dark look before asking, "So, what's in this for me, Nelson? I mean, if I'm going to be putting myself out there, you've got to make it worth my while."

Nelson guffawed and exchanged fist bumps with Azimio while Karofsky kept a sickly smile on his face. Puck seriously wondered if the other big was feeling well; maybe he'd eaten something that didn't agree with him, he shrugged as he waited for the red-headed idiot to answer him.

"Well, there's always bragging rights, dude. Better yet, if you make the little fag 'fall in love with you' (here the redhead used air quotes), your name will go down in history as _the_ baddest!"

Puck was getting heartily sick of hearing him and Azimio cackling so he rose to his feet and shoved his hands into his pockets. He leaned forward slightly, his voice lowering before informing them, "I'm already in the history books, 'dude'," he said mockingly before staring hard at Nelson. "Tell you what, come up with a thousand dollars and I'll do it."

Out of the corner of Puck's eye he noticed that Karofsky had relaxed after his statement but he only cared about Nelson's response. He'd deliberately quoted a high number, figuring – no, hoping – Nelson would back down.

The lanky redhead simply scoffed and waved Puck off. "A thousand? Hell, I'll make it two if you can manage to get a tape of the 'consummation'!"

Puck definitely felt his stomach lurch and if he hadn't been clenching his teeth already, he would have had to because of the nausea beginning to creep up on him. He was sinking deeper into this thing and he realized, furious with himself, that he was just as stupid as these assholes around him. However, he couldn't change his mind now and still be able to walk through the school without being slushied by the jocks… or worse.

He wondered if he looked as sick as he felt but he nodded and turned away abruptly, hearing Azimio asking Karofsky what was wrong with him. He didn't stay to hear the big jock's reply but sauntered away, his heart hammering at the enormity of what he'd agreed to do.

Coming on to Kurt wouldn't be hard to do; getting the young singer to fall for him, too, wouldn't be hard at all. The thing that would be hard?

That would be him being able to look at himself in the mirror in two weeks' time.

End flashback – current time:

Puck took in Kurt's expression, marveling at how, in just a couple of weeks, he had learned to see behind the other boy's mask. To anyone else, Kurt looked simply curious, but to Puck there was anguish in the depths of the beautiful blue eyes. Anguish that he had put there and now he didn't know what to say but he had to answer somehow.

"Why would you think this is a joke, princess?" Puck relied on his studliness and dubious charm to cloud the boy's mind as he slid one hand back around Kurt's slender waist.

Kurt, once again, pressed a soft hand against Puck's chest and shook his head. He didn't actually frown but Puck knew he was frowning on the inside; it was just one more thing he had come to learn about Kurt. He found it kinda cute that Kurt was so concerned about wrinkles at his age. He never frowned or laughed a lot, Puck had noticed the first time when he started 'wooing' Kurt because of the bet. He had known the other boy for years yet had hardly paid attention to him beyond the dumpster tosses and shoulder checks. Now, though, after spending enough time with the kid to get him to lower his guard, he could honestly say that he genuinely liked Kurt.

Whether he liked him or not, though, was not going to get in the way of his fulfilling the bet and getting his two grand from that clown Nelson. He mightn't like the redheaded idiot but two thousand dollars was nothing to sniff at.

He looked at Kurt now and slid one tanned finger beneath Kurt's chin to lift his lowered head. He softened his voice to a seductive murmur, fascinated as he watched Kurt's pupils dilate as he stared back at him.

"It's simple, babe; I have a thing for Cheerios and you've got to be one of the hottest ones on the squad." He eased his body against Kurt's to hold him in place as the other boy started to protest. "Nuh-uh, just listen, okay?" He brushed a soft kiss against Kurt's mouth and felt the other boy's resistance wane.

"I know you're gay but I'm not; this has nothing to do with gayness and everything with being a babe," Puck murmured now at his most convincing as he held Kurt's gaze. "Have you seen yourself? Damn, you're hotter than Santana, boy!"

He felt relieved when Kurt's eyes began to sparkle and a dimple appeared in the soft cheek turned to him as Kurt looked away shyly. Puck turned his head back to him and then leaned down to whisper in one pink ear, "I get hard just thinking of taking this uniform off you… slowly… and I don't care that you have a dick, either."

Kurt's eyes flew up to his as he seemed to search for something and Puck held still and let him. Finally, Kurt's lips curved into a smile and his lashes lowered again. Puck truly believed that Kurt was beautiful; he had not been lying earlier and he knew one day soon he would have to think seriously about that development.

Two weeks ago, at the start of this stupid bet, he had not been nervous about trying to seduce Kurt. Kurt was girly enough and hot enough in his own right and Puck had simply had to tell his mind … and body … that this was just another way to get his jollies. He was Noah Puckerman and he was all about pleasure, and the fact that Kurt had a dick didn't put him off at all. He was an equal opportunity slut, somewhat like Santana, whose supposedly secret letch for her best friend Brittany was a source of amusement to him.

Kurt was an attractive guy and Puck also thought he was funny in a snide, sarcastic way. They both sat in the back row at Glee and very often Puck had had to stifle his laughter at Kurt's comment about the head of the Glee club, Mr. Schuester, and his penchant for both Finn and sweater vests. When Kurt was bored he would go off (quietly, of course) on anything from the other members' fashion choices to their musical abilities.

Puck liked, too, that Kurt didn't back down when Azimio and Karofsky would corner him and do their Neanderthal routine, as Kurt called it. He was sure that Kurt had bruises from the various locker slams but he had never once complained to his dad or the school, for that matter, and Puck secretly thought he was kinda badass himself.

Now he enjoyed the way amusement made Kurt's sea-green eyes lighten and he dipped his head for another quick kiss. He hummed in pleasure as Kurt opened to him willingly and he sank into the delicious heat of Kurt's mouth.

When they had first started touching and eventually kissing, Puck had thought Kurt would freak out. After all, Puck wasn't known to be gay and he'd thought that Kurt would have been more reluctant to engage in their clandestine groping when Finn would leave the room for drinks and snacks during one of their games nights. Still, so far, Kurt hadn't allowed anything more than kissing and if Puck was going to earn the two thousand dollars, he needed to have Kurt on his back and giving it up to him willingly.

He nuzzled into the juncture of Kurt's neck and shoulder, feeling the smaller boy shudder against him, and whispered, "Do you wanna come over to mine?"

He held his breath as Kurt stiffened. This was it. If Kurt said yes, he was in the money. He had the camera that Nelson had given him and it was set up to tape anything in the vicinity of Puck's bed. If Kurt said yes, Puck's reputation would be secure, and if his gut told him – for the millionth time – that this was a bad idea, he once again ignored it.

He stepped away from Kurt's tempting body and trained his best bedroom eyes on the boy before him. He let one hand brush the slight bulge in the front of his jeans and he smiled inwardly as Kurt's eyes dropped to it… but he waited patiently.

Finally, Kurt's eyes lifted to his and once again there was that hint of fear. Puck felt himself hold his breath as he waited for Kurt's answer. He needn't have worried, though, because, after seeming to take a deep breath, Kurt answered him.

"Yes, I'll come with you…"

**TBC**

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**A/N 2: So, tell me what you think, folks. Feedback is always awesome.**


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N:** Thank you, guys, for the kudos! I promise I won't hurt Kurt too much. :D

.... 

Kurt strode out of the deserted school towards the parking lot, his eyes occasionally cutting over to the jock swaggering beside him.

He knew that what he was going to do was potentially dangerous; oh, not in the physical sense where he thought that Puck was going to hurt him. No, where the danger laid was in the fact that he was in danger of having actual feelings for the sexy jock.

Of course, the sensible part of him wanted to kick his own fine ass up and down the block, but the slutty part of him just wanted to lay himself out like a feast for Puck to gorge on. Dear Gaga, what would his dad say if he could hear his inner monologue!

Puck had proven to have hidden depths over these last couple of weeks and Kurt had been pleasantly surprised to find that the other boy had a sense of humor pretty similar to his. The times when Puck had come over to ostensibly hang out with Finn had segued into him spending time with Kurt as well. Finn had looked faintly uncomfortable the first time, two weeks ago, when Puck had invited Kurt to play videogames with them.

Finn had looked as if he'd wanted to protest but had subsided at the oddly fierce look Puck had thrown at him, and Kurt had wondered about that. He could tell that Finn wasn't happy with Puck's sudden desire to have Kurt join them, but he didn't actually say anything. Kurt had been happy to hang with them that afternoon as he was at loose ends anyway. His dad and Carole had gone out for the afternoon, so the three of them had been left to their own devices.

Kurt had proceeded to trounce them thoroughly in Mario Kart but had failed epically at Halo and Grand Theft Auto. Finn had relaxed enough to enjoy watching Kurt pout his way through the more violent videogames. Kurt's comments were funny in a really sarcastic way and Finn and Puck spent half the time cackling while they racked up points against the disgruntled boy.

Finn had obviously been surprised that they had all had so much fun. Later, when they'd ordered pizza, though, Puck kept drawing Kurt into their conversation and the diva could see that his stepbrother was again somewhat uncomfortable with it. Usually, on a Sunday, Kurt would be out with Mercedes in the afternoon because she had church in the morning. That Sunday, Kurt explained, she'd had a family get-together so he was free to hang out with them.

Finn had got a funny look on his face as he watched Puck deliberately turn on his charm and Kurt simply figured Finn was going to have a word with his friend later about that. He figured the little chat would probably run along the lines of "Kurt doesn't need to be crushing on another straight guy, yadda, yadda". Kurt wished Finn would finally get over his latent homophobia. It was getting kinda old.

The ensuing two weeks were a dizzying kaleidoscope of surreptitious touches and intense eye-fucking on Puck's part and it all served to leave Kurt in an almost constant, giddy, horny haze. He couldn't understand what the hot, muscular jock saw in him but he was definitely interested in finding out.

The members of McKinley High's glee club, the New Directions, were an almost incestuously close bunch. They didn't have to be blood-related to be like brothers and sisters but what complicated the whole thing was that they kept inter-dating.

Kurt's female counterpart, Rachel Berry, the diva of divas as she would love everyone to believe, was one of the few to vocally object to Puck's apparent wooing of her almost-friend and rival. She was shouted down by Kurt's best friend Mercedes who, privately, had her own doubts. Mercedes, however, trusted Kurt's judgment and, having been the brief recipient of Puck's attention, knew the heady trip Kurt was in for. She was backed up by Santana and her girlfriend Brittany, both Cheerios and both of whom had enjoyed Puck's wares, as well as Quinn, who was both Finn and Puck's ex-girlfriend. Well, in Puck's case, baby momma.

Tina (the only one never to have dated Puck) and Mike, her boyfriend, pretty much kept their opinions to themselves and Sam – well, he had family problems that made him nearly oblivious to the Glee club's continuing dramas. As to Artie, who had once dated both Brittany and Tina, he was a self-described 'playa' and thought Puck should go for it, if Kurt was willing.

The club's mentor and the school's Spanish teacher, Will Schuester, often left those Glee club meetings with a headache, and it wasn't from all the singing and dancing. Teenage hormones were wont to run riot, especially given how close the group was, and he sincerely hoped that none of them would get hurt.

Now, after another loud session, Kurt walked beside Puck out to their respective vehicles and he tensed unconsciously when Puck turned to him with a soft smile. Strangely enough, the smile didn't affect the faintly predatory look in the boy's brown-hazel eyes and, as Kurt took a deep breath, he told his conscience to shut the hell up. It had been trying to tell him for the last fifteen minutes that he was getting in way over his head with Puck, but he had tuned it out in favor of getting his belated mack on.

Puck looked at Kurt, noting now that the other boy seemed slightly pale – well, paler than he had just been because the flush had finally subsided.

"Do you have my address – you know where I live?" He'd dropped his voice to a sexy murmur, a tactic that had often worked on his 'conquests'.

Kurt rolled his eyes but smiled, his lips curving in an entirely too distracting way, to Puck's mind. "Of course, I've dropped Finn off there often enough."

Puck took a step closer to him but stopped before actually invading Kurt's space. He nodded now. "Okay, I'll see you in an hour?" He knew Kurt would probably want to go home and get dolled up, maybe get a shower after his Cheerio training, so he figured an hour was just right. It was long enough to accommodate the drive home, plus give the little diva enough time to obsess over what he would wear to bolster his confidence. Puck knew Kurt very well by now, he figured.

Kurt flashed him a sultry little look from beneath surprisingly thick lashes but simply nodded. Puck took another step closer and leaned down to whisper huskily in one delicate pink ear, "Well, I'll see you then," and suppressed a grin as he heard the hitch in Kurt's breathing.

He didn't wait for a response but sauntered off to his own vehicle, knowing that Kurt was watching the way his body moved as he walked away.

Kurt was, indeed, watching Puck and admiring the view but he was also once again fighting with his conscience, trying to get the bitch to shut up already. Still, as he fiddled with his car key and started to head to his Navigator, the voice only got louder.

He knew he was taking his reputation in his hand and dashing it to the ground by going with Puck but, in all his 17 years, no one had paid him the kind of attention the jock was lavishing on him now. Strangely enough, Kurt hadn't been so much as shoulder-checked or slushied in the two weeks Puck had started coming on to him. In fact, he was now the recipient of several stares and creepy grins but since he knew the level of intelligence in the town of Lima, Ohio, was significantly lower than the national average, he dismissed it.

Kurt felt a little smile playing about his lips as he slid into the driver seat of his baby and flung his bag over onto the passenger seat. His body was tingling lightly – both from what he and Puck had just been doing but also from anticipation. He, Kurt Hummel, was about to get first-hand knowledge of what all the shouting was about re: sex with one badass sex-shark named Noah Puckerman.

Grinning to himself, he pulled out ahead of Puck and tooted his horn as he peeled away from the school. He couldn't wait to get home and get ready before heading out to the Puckerman house. A desire to text Mercedes with what he was about to do was violently squashed and he frowned slightly. He had a funny feeling his BFF would not approve of what he was about to embark on.

The drive home seemed simultaneously longer and shorter than usual and Kurt barely parked properly before he was dashing inside the house. Finn was home already, having left football practice after showering quickly. Kurt had figured he had a big date with Rachel later so he was surprised to find his new stepbrother still there.

Finn called out to him as he dropped his keys on the hall table but Kurt just called a quick 'hi' to him before heading to his basement suite. So intense was his concentration that he didn't hear Finn behind him as he dashed down the stairs and threw his designer satchel onto his bed. He moved directly to his walk-in closet and toed off his trainers absent-mindedly as he eyed the stacks upon racks of mostly designer outfits.

"So, you have a date or something?"

Kurt absolutely did not squeak in surprise at finding Finn down in his room but he leapt nearly a foot off the ground as he spun around.

"Finn, good Gaga, why are you down here?!" Kurt's voice had gone up an octave and his heart hammered in his throat as he stared at his stepbrother. "And yes, I do have a date, as a matter of fact!"

Finn threw himself onto Kurt's fancy couch and looked at his stepbrother with a faintly concerned air.

"Uhm, anyone I know?"

Kurt was fairly certain as he watched the overly-tall teen trying to appear nonchalant that Finn knew exactly who Kurt was going to 'hang out' with. He turned away without answering and started stripping. Usually, Finn would get freaked out and dash out of his room like a scalded cat but somehow he kept his seat and only continued talking as Kurt peeled off his sweaty red and white Cheerios uniform.

"Look, Kurt, I know you're going to hang out with Puck, okay?"

Kurt poked his head out of his walk-in closet/changing room and frowned in his slightly superior way at the other boy.

"So, do we need your permission to 'hang out'?" Kurt was secretly wondering if he ought to have come up with a lie but he realized he really didn't care what Finn thought.

Finn was looking back at him with an oddly uncomfortable expression on his usually open face. Kurt waited for him to speak, tying his terry robe carefully because God forbid he should accidentally flash the skittish teen. He might think Kurt was trying to seduce him or something.

Kurt watched as Finn's shoulders tensed.

"I know why Puck is doing this… and you don't want to know…"

Kurt's jaw dropped and he stared confusedly at his stepbrother. "What, come again? What are you talking about, Finn?" His voice was high with annoyance and he crossed his arms before his chest, unconsciously trying to look intimidating. Maybe it worked because Finn began to stutter.

"See, uhm, how I heard it was that, uh, there was a … uhm, bet?"

Kurt felt an intense pain shoot across his stomach and rush swiftly up his chest to lodge in his throat. He stared at Finn, barely able to breathe, and just knew deep down that the other boy was not lying. Turning to move towards his dresser, Kurt sat on the elegant padded wrought-iron stool with its low curlicue back and stared at himself in the mirror. His eyes were huge in his too-pale face but, as he watched, his own visage seemed to warp and change. The anger that was building seemed to be hardening his soft features and as the seconds passed in awkward silence, Kurt saw himself turn into someone else.

"Oh," he finally said, his voice hoarse and almost croaking. He cleared his throat and began again, his chin lifting as he tried to deny to himself and Finn the venom that was pouring through his veins. "A bet? Well, wow, that actually does sound like Puck."

He tried to make it sound as if he were not at all surprised, to be sophisticated like those women in the old black and white movies he secretly watched on TCM when he was alone in the house. He turned slightly towards Finn as the other boy got up and took a couple of steps towards him.

"Uhm, yeah, just a joke, I think." Finn's face flushed with the lie but Kurt simply nodded as if understanding.

"What exactly did this bet entail?" He rolled his eyes as Finn looked confused at the last word. "What was the bet about, Finn?"

His stomach clenched again as he watched Finn's face almost fold in on itself as he tried to find just the right words to explain it to Kurt.

"Well, uh, how I heard it in the locker room was that, uhm, uh," and he turned back to sit – no, collapse – on Kurt's bed and lean forward to look down at the white carpet. He seemed to find something marvelously fascinating with the carpet because he didn't speak for a bit and only continued when Kurt cleared his throat impatiently.

"Yeah, uh, Puckisgoingtohavesexwithyou!"

Kurt blinked as he valiantly deciphered the run of words that had Finn turning red, his eyes squinching shut and his shoulders hunching in. It was almost as if he thought Kurt would get physically violent with him. It wasn't too farfetched because when Kurt lurched up from the stool, he moved two steps towards Finn before stopping abruptly.

"And he has to do it in the two weeks since the stag party at Nelson's," he finally registered, Finn's voice louder now when he realized Kurt wasn't going to go ballistic. "It was Nelson, that redheaded hockey jerk's idea, I heard."

The white noise in Kurt's head drowned out Finn's next words but Kurt didn't care. _Puck's going to have sex with me as a bet. Puck is going to take my virginity as a bet_ ... and then … what? That was the part that Kurt wanted cleared up so he calmed down, took a deep breath and then pinned Finn with such a glare, the other boy looked as if he were about to pee himself.

"Who is involved in this?"

"Ugh, the jocks… uhm, just some of the guys from the hockey team, the football team, ugh, some others…" Finn's voice was small as he replied. "The Glee guys heard about it, too, same time I did, and we decided I should tell you."

Kurt wrapped his arms around himself because he was feeling really cold. He wondered idly if they were in for a cold spell. Hmmm, his dad needed to get the heating system serviced before they could use it, a part of his mind said, even as he pondered on Finn's words.

"So, did you talk to Puck about it?" Clearly, even if they had, Puck had decided to go ahead with the plan but Kurt was curious to know if Finn and the others would have stood up to Puck for him.

Finn nodded quickly, seeming eager to vindicate himself and prove that he was getting better as a brother. "Yeah, uhm, yeah, we did. He said that," and here he cleared his throat again. "He said that you were hot and that two grand is nothing to sneeze at in this economy."

Kurt felt the color surge from the middle of his chest clear up to his hairline and he turned back to his vanity and slid onto the stool. So, Puck really did find him attractive. At least he was honest, in his own somewhat perverse way, Kurt scoffed to himself. Something else puzzled Kurt, though, and he stared at Finn's reflection in the mirror.

"So, how was he going to prove it to 'the jocks'," he said with the kind of disdain he usually reserved for certain reality shows. "What proof was he going to give them that he had 'done the deed'?"

There was silence and then, finally, in an even smaller voice than before, Finn answered. Kurt didn't hear what he'd said, though and asked sharply, "What?"

"A webcam, okay?!" Finn got to his feet with his hands clenched. "I can't believe I didn't punch him out when he told me, man!"

He looked so near to tears that Kurt almost felt some sympathy for him, but most of his mental energy was taken up with not freaking out. He would have had a right to freak out, wouldn't he? How many people found out, just minutes before they lost their virginity, that it was all a joke, that their first time was going to be fodder for other people's vindictive amusement?

Kurt felt the tears threatening now and he got up quickly, heading towards his _en suite_ , and told Finn to get out of his room. He waved off Finn's sputtered apologies and rushed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him and locking it.

He sank down onto the lid of the toilet seat as he stared at the tiles he had chosen one Saturday at the mall with Mercedes. He reached over absently and started the shower running, his eyes still staring unseeingly and when he adjusted the temperature, he got up to slip the robe off and hang it on the door. 

After testing the water a minute later, he stepped into the glass enclosure, closed his eyes and turned his face up to the shower spray. His tears mingled with the nearly scalding water and he stood like that for who knew how long before actually starting to wash. He cried out some of the hurt and anguish, but not all of it. Oh, no, some of that hurt had already hardened something within him and when the water finally cooled, he'd made up his mind. 

He toweled off briskly, slipped out of the bathroom and into his closet and took out his lounging around clothes. Dressing quickly, he slid onto his bed and grabbed his cell phone. He had every member of the Glee club's number and he settled back as he listened to Puck's cell phone ringing. 

_"Yo, babe, on your way over?"_

Kurt's stomach clenched at how sexy Puck sounded on the phone and he cleared his throat. 

"Uhm, no, I'm not." Kurt realized his voice was hoarse from crying and it pleased him somewhat. This would work. 

He heard a slight sound but he couldn't make out what it was before Puck was speaking. _"What? You changed your mind about us?"_

__

__

Kurt rolled his eyes at the other boy's audacity. 'Us', indeed! Clearing his throat again and trying to sound as pathetic as possible, he muttered, "Uhm, no, I still want to – it's just… I'm not feeling so good." 

He listened with his lips furled as Puck tried to make sympathetic noises. Kurt knew he must be pissed at the change in his plans. "Look, this is Friday, I should be better by Sunday, maybe even Monday. We can still hook up…" 

That would take them just outside the two-week window; Puck would have to ask for an extension on the bet if he really wanted to collect the money. Kurt smiled, his eyes hard as he thought of that.

_"No, no, uhm, how about I come over now?"_

Kurt's eyes widened as he sat up in bed and he just barely held back a squawk of outrage. He couldn't believe this guy! Here he was, supposedly sick in bed and Puck was willing to screw him – just for the money. 

Okay then, Kurt thought with narrowed eyes, let the games begin. 

**TBC**


	3. Chapter Three

...

Kurt listened to Puck's faux-concerned voice, deliberately softened and lowered his own voice and, along with the huskiness from his earlier crying jag, figured it would make him sound a little sexy.

"No, I- uhm, okay; I really think Sunday is best…"

He waited as his earlier idea solidified and he silently thanked his burgeoning curiosity and the Internet. As he listened to Puck's breathing, he grinned to himself. Despite the hurt he felt, he was going to enjoy the next few hours, oh yes.

Puck's voice came back, still soft and somewhat solicitous. _"Okay, babe, Sunday it is. Uhm, feel better soon, okay?"_

Kurt couldn't hold back the sly giggle but managed to turn it into a cough as he replied, "Oh, I will, thanks."

He hung up quickly and slid down in the bed to stare grimly up at the ceiling. Before five minutes had passed, though, he reached one long arm out to his bedside drawer, reached into it and pulled out the package hidden in the back. Throwing a glance at his bedroom door, even though he knew he had locked it after leaving the shower, he sat up and smirked to himself.

Kurt Hummel was an intelligent boy, nay, young man, on the verge of becoming sexually active. He had seen and accepted the increasingly heated looks that Puck had been showering on him these last two weeks and one day, when at loose ends, Kurt had decided to look at one of those websites that kept sending him these rather interesting, though unsolicited, emails.

Clicking on one of them, Kurt had discovered a world that he'd not known existed. After that he'd spent many hours familiarizing himself with the many and diverse products for sale and when, at the bottom of one ad he'd noticed their assurance that all products would be mailed discreetly wrapped, he'd used his debit card and bought several items.

Now he held one of those packages in his hands and spent several minutes getting up the courage to even open the package. When he did finally unwrap the item, he stared at it in awe and, with a growing determination, decided that he would use it… and enjoy it.

By the time Carole called downstairs that dinner was ready and asked was he coming up, Kurt was flushed, sweaty, spent… and in need of another shower.

"Give me five minutes, please, Carole!" He called upstairs in a voice that was only marginally recognizable as his and he was once again thankful that he had the entire basement suite and its relative soundproof qualities to himself.

That night as he settled into bed, his body sore and his mind sated, he smiled in the dark at the thought of the next day. Despite his physical satiation, his mind seethed with a desire for revenge… even though Puck had not technically done anything to warrant it as yet. The fact that the jock had planned to do something so despicable was enough for Kurt to make his own plans and be determined to follow them through… no matter what.

.

…

.

By Sunday morning, Kurt's equilibrium had returned and his spirits were considerably higher than the day before. At breakfast, Finn eyed him warily, just like he had at dinner the night before, but Kurt kept his mask of insouciance in place.

By the afternoon, though, he was admittedly a little nervous but he looked at himself with satisfaction in the mirror. He had packed a little bag, his wallet, his necessary toiletries … and a few little surprises for Puck. He took one last look in the mirror before giving himself a sharp nod.

He had decided to dress down for this inauspicious occasion and he knew his appearance would confuse Puck. That was all a part of his plan, however. He eyed the way the ragged, cropped sweat top slipped and slid around; it would, as it was one of Finn's. Hey, he didn't have a boyfriend to snitch clothes from so his brother would have to provide. The top was definitely too big and that was the point. It made his creamy skin play an enticing game of peekaboo and as Kurt already knew that Puck thought he was hot, it should work.

His eyes dropped to the disreputable pair of shorts he'd decided to wear. He hoped his dad and Carole wouldn't be in the family room but, if he knew his parents, they would be taking a pre-dinner nap around the time Kurt would head out. Finn would be the one he would have to get past and he knew the huge teen was already worried about him.

Kurt grinned as he fingered the edges of the cut-off shorts, liking the way his thighs looked below the ragged hems. He was grateful for Coach Sylvester's murderous workouts because his body had never before looked so toned and he turned around to give his round butt a satisfied pat.

On his feet, he wore heavy tan work boots only partially laced over white ankle socks and if he looked like something out of one of those awful movies he was not supposed to be watching… well, that was the idea, wasn't it?

He was going to give Noah Puckerman, Lima slut, a run for his money, a taste of his own medicine, etc., etc. Kurt's eyes darkened as a shard of hurt shifted and bored deeper. He'd never forgive the jock for this and if he could get some of his own back, he would gladly go for it.

He collected his things, made sure he had his Marc Jacobs shades and his car keys and then headed upstairs, his stomach in a little knot of apprehension. Well, to be honest, anticipation was there, too.

With a bright smile curving his lips that had the faintest touch of cherry lip gloss, he called out to Finn: "I'm off now!"

Finn, playing another videogame, this time by himself apparently, waved a negligent hand over his head. "Okay, tell the girls I said 'hi'."

Kurt smirked as he paused in the front hallway, enjoying the feel of the sunlight streaming through the glass panels in the door. "Oh, I'll tell Puck you said 'hi'." He grinned as Finn squawked and spun around, dropping his controls as he did.

"Holy shit! Kurt! Oh my God, what are you wearing?!"

Kurt laughed at the wide, horrified eyes staring back at him and did a little twirl before stopping with one hip slightly cocked. He hooked a hand in the waist of the jeans shorts, knowing that it would sag a little and reveal a bit of his neatly groomed treasure trail.

"What? This is fine for hanging out with Puck." He grinned, though his eyes held a glint of steel in them. "It's perfect for what he has in mind, isn't it?"

He watched as Finn's eyes roved from the tip of his boots, up his legs, skidded over his shorts and top and stopped at the top of his tousled hair. "B-but, your hair isn't even combed! Ku-urt!"

Kurt smirked wider this time and shrugged, holding back a giggle as the sweatshirt slid an inch more down one shoulder. He lifted his chin and stared back at Finn, though, and said in a low voice, "Finn, relax, okay?"

He watched as Finn's shoulders slumped and the sadness became more pronounced on his child-like features. "Dude, I just don't want anything to happen, you know?"

Kurt felt a little bad for teasing the other teen so he nodded. "All I can say is that nothing's going to happen that I don't want to happen, okay, cowboy?"

They stared at each other for long seconds and when Finn sighed, Kurt nodded once and then left, sure he could feel Finn's reproachful eyes boring into his retreating back.

.

…

.

Puck grinned as he watched Kurt's Nav pull into the driveway. He headed for the front hall, making certain that the super-tight tank he had on outlined his pectoral muscles perfectly with just the shadow of his nipple ring making a slight impression in the material. He knew his low-slung jeans framed his package perfectly so now he slid a hand down his mohawk and grinned salaciously as he heard the doorbell ring.

He swung the door open, a sexy smirk prepared and slanted just so… and then felt it slide off his face as he stared at Kurt.

The afternoon sunlight gilded the boy's body to perfection and Puck felt as if all the blood had pooled farther south; he could only gape as he took in the sight of Kurt, waiting to be invited in.

"Holy … fuck! Wh_!"

Kurt breezed by him, one corner of his lush lips tilting up as he stared back at Puck standing in the open doorway and looking as if someone had slapped him with a wet trout.

"Are you alright?" Kurt's voice was breezy as he stared back at Puck, his eyes bright and blue in the afternoon sunlight.

Puck couldn't tear his eyes away from Kurt's body. What the. ever-living. fuck?!

He couldn't believe Hummel had left his house looking like an extra from a porno… and a jailbait extra at that! He barely registered his hand pushing the front door shut but he must have because the light dimmed a bit and he noticed as Kurt turned to look around his living room.

Oh… wow! The back view was even better than the front, Puck thought, awed at the sight of Kurt's high, tight ass lovingly encased in the most sinful pair of shorts he'd ever seen on a guy. Finally, realizing that he really ought to take a breath, he came back to himself and addressed the boy who was now looking back at him again with a question in his eyes.

"Ugh, oh yeah, come in." He winced as he saw amusement flare across Kurt's face but thankfully he didn't laugh outright.

"Why, thank you," Kurt said, a slightly flirtatious and very faintly shy note coming into his soft voice.

Puck cleared his throat and as he led the way up to his room he asked, with the barely remembered manners his ma had drilled into him, "Uhm, are you feeling better… from yesterday?"

Kurt giggled now and said, "Oh, yeah, thanks. It must have been one of those 24-hour things, you know?"

Puck nodded and when they got to the head of the stairs he slid his eyes over Kurt's form as he gestured for him to walk ahead of him into his bedroom. "Okay, uh, well, that's good."

He rolled his eyes at himself. God, way to sound lamer than a geek, asshole! Clearing his throat softly, he held out an arm as if revealing the room to Kurt and said with a grin, "Well, welcome to my lair, beautiful."

Surprisingly, Kurt didn't blush, and he felt a little disappointed because he really liked seeing the color flood those smooth cheeks. His mind immediately went to the other cheeks outlined in those shorts and he almost shook his head at himself. Damn, he must be coming down with something himself. No way was it just Hummel's appearance that was throwing him off his game. He was Lima's most badass stud; no virgin should make him stutter and sweat, no way!

Kurt strode into the middle of the room and looked around, pleasantly surprised at its neatness and not overly disturbing décor. There were a number of posters of busty bimbos but that was to be expected. What was more interesting, however, were the posters from rock concerts over the decades. Also, in one corner was a beautiful guitar that was so obviously expensive, Kurt knew it must have belonged to Puck's dad.

Anyway, he told himself as he slid his bag from his shoulder and let it dangle from one languid hand as he turned to stare at Puck, it's time to get this show on the road!

Letting his lashes fall to shadow his cheeks, he bit his lower lip before looking up at Puck again, making sure a soft, unsure expression was on his face. "Uhm, where do you want me?"

Holy fu…! Puck swallowed and felt himself twitch in his jeans as he stared at the delicious boy before him. Who would have guessed that Kurt Hummel could look so very fuckable, standing there in his ragged clothes that would make any red-blooded guy want to tear them off him.

Clearing his throat again, Puck sauntered up to him, put one hand up to a pale, gleaming shoulder and then slid his hand all the way down the arm until he could lace his fingers with Kurt's. He leaned in to sniff Kurt's long neck, pleased at the way Kurt tilted his head to allow him access.

"Well, now, there's no rush, is there?"

His breath fluttered across Kurt's skin and the boy did nothing to hold back the little gasp that escaped. Wow, Puck really was good at this whole seduction thing and if Kurt hadn't known what this evening was truly about, he totally would have bought it.

He eased away from Puck, however, and placing his bag on the teen's desk chair he stood with his back to him and dropped his head, trying to portray some trepidation at their upcoming activities. He felt the heat from Puck's muscular body all the way down his back and did nothing to suppress the full-body shiver that it caused. He wanted Puck to see what he was doing to him… how he couldn't resist him... and wondered where the hidden camera was.

Puck felt the small grin he'd had slide off his face as Kurt moved away from him and ran his eyes hungrily up and down that surprisingly sexy body. Boy, did he luck out! He threw a glance over at where the camera was hidden and then turned back to step closer to Kurt. When he saw the shiver run through Kurt at his proximity, though, a feeling he hadn't expected ran through him.

"Hey, hey, babe, I hope you aren't scared about this?" He brought his body as close to Kurt's as he could and pulled the slender boy back against him. God, did Kurt smell good – and his skin was so soft. Realizing that he was getting into this too fast, however, he stepped back a little and allowed Kurt to turn around.

Kurt looked up at the other boy who was only an inch or so taller and shook his head before looking down and biting his lip. "Uhm, no, not really…"

Puck smiled down at the shy visage and leaned in to brush a soft kiss against one smooth cheek and then the other.

"Good, I don't want you to do anything but enjoy this. I know I will."

Kurt's eyes flew up to his and Puck could swear he saw a flicker of something sharp gleam in them for the briefest second. He must have been wrong, though, because Kurt simply lifted his chin and Puck knew an invitation when he saw one. He leaned down and took Kurt's mouth softly, flicking his tongue repeatedly at the soft lips before Kurt parted them and he could sink into the hot depth.

They stood kissing for a long time, Puck getting lost in the subtle flavors of the countertenor's mouth.

Kurt had to remind himself that this was all fake because, as he already knew, Puck was one heck of a kisser but he found himself growing hard as the kiss went on.

He finally pulled away, breathing a little harder and sure that his cheeks were pink. He watched as Puck studied his face and then jumped a little as he felt the jock's big hands come down to cup his ass and pull him closer.

He held back a gasp at the feel of Puck's own bulge pressing insistently into his and he closed his eyes, turning his head away as if too shy to acknowledge what was going on.

Puck chuckled, loving the way Kurt's body was responding to him even though he seemed to be suffering from terminal shyness. Well, he was going to rid him of that shyness once and for all… and he was going to enjoy doing it.

What Kurt and many others didn't know, including Finn, was that this would not be the first time Puck was with a guy. His first time was at one of those many big, fancy houses where the swimming pools were large and luxurious. The son of one of his MILFs had been home from some out-of-state college and taken a liking to the way Puck looked while cleaning his mom's swimming pool.

For nearly three weeks over one memorable summer, Puck and Colin had explored every inch of each other's body and done things Puck had only ever before seen in the 'blue' movies he and the other jocks used to sneak and watch. Puck never told Finn or anyone else about his experiences but he thanked Colin now for giving him a taste of such 'strange meat'. Kurt was beautiful and he was going to gorge himself on him before everything came to an inevitable, screeching halt.

There was no doubt that Kurt would be madder than a wet cat when he found out about Nelson's bet and the money. There was no way someone as proud as Kurt would let Puck get away with what he'd done but Puck felt there was no way he could pass up that money. It meant too much to him and his family and if, on some nights, he felt lower than scum, well, that was how the world turned, wasn't it? He couldn't afford principles, not with the shitty hand he'd been dealt.

So, now, as he led Kurt over to the bed and let him sink gently onto it, he packed up his scruples and brought all his lascivious thoughts to the forefront of his mind. Kurt was lying there looking like every gay man's dream, and even some 'straight' guys' fantasies, and Puck was going to enjoy every minute of this, he promised himself. He would make it good for Kurt and when the stuff hit the fan later, he would remind him that he could have said 'no'.

Kurt watched as thoughts ran behind Puck's eyes and wondered what they were. He stretched out on the large, firm bed and let his eyelids fall to half mast, trying to look as inviting as possible. When his eyes fell on the bag he'd brought, he held in the smile because it would have given the game away.

Kurt gasped as Puck lowered himself onto his body and his legs automatically widened to accommodate the larger jock. He groaned as Puck ground down onto his persistent erection and he turned his head to the side, faintly embarrassed at his body's response to the bastard.

Puck, on the other hand, was immensely pleased with himself at Kurt's response. There was passion hidden inside the delicious body beneath him and he was glad he would be the first to unlock it. He stilled and waited for Kurt to look back at him and when he did, he repeated the move a little harder this time.

Kurt's eyes widened as his lips parted, panting slightly at the heated look Puck was giving him. Before he could say anything, the jock's mouth was on his again, his tongue delving deep and tasting him as if he were the sweetest dish.

"God, Kurt, you're so hot, I just want to eat you up," Puck panted as he nibbled at one of Kurt's pink earlobes. He moved his attention to Kurt's collarbone, placing sucking kisses there before nudging the ridiculously large sweatshirt out of the way.

Kurt gasped when Puck slid his shirt down with a movement of his chin and then cried out loud when a hot mouth closed around his nipple.

"Puck! Oh…" Kurt arched up so violently he almost pushed Puck off and the jock smiled around the tender bud between his lips. He nibbled and sucked at it until Kurt was writhing and crying out before going over to the other one. When that one was sufficiently tortured, he sat up suddenly and ripped off his own tank, feeling himself harden further at the look Kurt was giving him.

Kurt stared at Puck's chest, his eyes wide and faintly unbelieving at the feast before him. Puck had to have the sexiest body of all the jocks at McKinley, he thought faintly, his hands coming up unbidden to stroke across the muscular chest.

He almost forgot about the camera but when he saw Puck flick a quick glance to his bookcase, he knew that was where it was hidden. Deciding to give the best show he could, he murmured in a just loud enough, lustful voice, "Oh my God, Puck, wow!"

Puck preened at the way Kurt was looking at him and his breathy, girly voice went straight to Puck's cock. He slid off of Kurt and brought his hand to the waist of the slender boy's shorts and raised an eyebrow. He watched as Kurt bit his lip again and then nodded, seemingly reluctantly.

Grinning, he opened the button at the waist of the shorts and then slid the zipper down slowly over Kurt's package, his eyes following its path.

"Holy shit!" Puck's voice was hushed as he stared down at Kurt who had gone commando. That wasn't why he'd cried out, though. No, it was because Kurt's cock had twitched and then flicked up out of the opening and Puck could only stare at the thick, uncut beauty of it. "Wow, Hummel, you've been packing and we had no idea!"

He looked up at Kurt whose cheeks were now truly red. He chuckled and then fisted Kurt's cock, loving the way it felt in his hand.

Kurt's mouth dropped open at the way Puck was handling him. It was almost as if this wasn't the first time Puck had held another guy's cock in his hand and Kurt wondered now about that. Still, this wasn't the time to let his libido run too far away from him. He needed to get this show moving.

He writhed and gasped, moaning slightly as Puck continued to slide his hand up Kurt's cock, the movement easier because of the few beads of pre-come that had appeared at its tip.

Puck was unbearably hard and he let go of Kurt with a last pat and slid off the bed so he could remove his own uncomfortable jeans. He jerked his chin at Kurt, indicating that he should get rid of the sweatshirt and when Kurt did, Puck smiled at the sight of a naked and very beautiful Kurt Hummel in his bed.

Oh, yes, that tape was going to be gold, he gloated. As he prowled back to the bed, gloriously naked and his cock leading the way, he gave Kurt his sexiest smile in his arsenal and knelt on the bed.

Kurt, however, lifted a hand to the impressive chest and stopped his forward movement. "Uhm, Puck, could you get my bag for me?"

Puck twitched a curious eyebrow at him but did as asked, getting the bag and handing it over to the slender teen. He wondered what was important enough in the bag to slow things down but he didn't have long to wait.

Kurt smiled shyly at the muscular jock and reached into the bag, withdrawing his hand slowly to reveal a fairly small object.

Puck stared at it, confused, and then looked back at Kurt. He smirked, however, because it meant things would probably be a lot more interesting than he'd expected them to be. Before he could ask Kurt anything, however, the pale-skinned diva reached back into the bag and brought out what looked like… Puck's mouth dropped open. Oh, hell no! Was that a _? Yes, it was!

Looking exceptionally obscene in Kurt's small, slender hand was the largest blackest dildo Puck had ever seen. Hell, that probably even existed!… and Kurt Hummel was stroking it lovingly and looking at Puck with one eyebrow raised. He took up the other, smaller object and held it out to Puck, his lips curved in a gentle smile.

"What is it, Puck? Never seen a cock ring and dildo before?"

.

**TBC**


	4. Chapter Four

…

Puck, to his everlasting shame, stared like a hill country rube setting foot inside a shopping mall for the first time. The black dildo gleamed in the light streaming through his window but it was the look on Kurt's face that actually got to him.

"Kurt… what the fuck?!

Kurt fluttered his lashes at Puck and knelt up on the bed, his softened cock flopping between his legs and momentarily distracting Puck from what he felt was his righteous indignation. It didn't help that Kurt seemed to know his way very well around the monster that had several inches both in length and girth on his own, not inconsiderable Puckzilla.

"Oh, Puck, are you jealous?" Kurt licked the tip of the dildo and… damn if Puck didn't feel his dick didn't twitch at that.

Puck felt both confused and angry now. "Wait, hold up? Aren't you a virgin? What the fuck?!"

Kurt dropped the hand with the dildo and sat back on his heels as he stared at Puck, face innocent and beautiful.

"Of course I'm a virgin, silly!" He grinned in what he thought was a cute, Brittany fashion and then brought the dildo up to circle one pointy pink nipple. "That doesn't mean I can't… experiment…"

His breathy voice, coupled with what he was doing, was proving to be a massive turn-on for Puck. Damn, this really was like something out of a porno, he thought to himself dazedly. Kurt, there on his bed, his luscious, creamy skin with a pink tinge to it… it made Puck want to get his hands and his mouth on the boy like immediately.

He took a deep breath, scrubbed one hand down his mohawk and then came back towards the bed and the boy waiting for him on it. Okay, the plan could still go ahead; he would happily pop Kurt's cherry and get his two thousand from that asshole Nelson.

His eyes heated up as they roved all over Kurt, eyeing the way the boy's large, pale-skinned dick with its flushed head was hardening again. Puck silently thanked Colin for introducing him to an option he had never considered before last summer and slid his hand now up Kurt's taut thigh to rest on one sweet hipbone.

Kurt's body was like a masterpiece, seriously. Who knew? There was a suggestion of tight muscles beneath the smooth, gleaming skin, nothing bulgy and obvious, and Puck found his mouth watering at the feel of the silky skin. He brought his mouth to Kurt's, nibbled on the plump bottom lip and then dipped his tongue inside teasingly.

Kurt moaned around the agile muscle in his mouth and wondered how good Puck would be at using it elsewhere on his body. He maneuvered himself backward without letting go of the dildo and groaned into Puck's mouth when the jock's hot body slid onto his.

Puck kissed Kurt like he wanted to eat him up, his hand roaming all over the hot smooth flesh beneath him. Damn, but he could hardly wait to slide into Kurt's tight heat, and he knew it was going to be good.

He pulled back to catch his breath and then moved his mouth to Kurt's neck and jawline to continue kissing, nibbling and generally ratcheting up Kurt's arousal to the point where the boy was flushed from his hairline down to the middle of his chest. He loved the sounds Kurt was making, too, and when he flicked his tongue at a nipple again, Kurt lurched and his dick slid against Puck's.

"Oh!" His breathy voice had Puck bucking forward and grinding down into him. Kurt's arms were wrapped tightly around his waist and he shifted so that his long legs were wrapped fully around Puck's thighs.

Puck looked up to gaze down into Kurt's lust-blown eyes, the blue almost eclipsed by the huge pupils. Puck felt an immense amount of pride; no one had seen Kurt look like this before... and he had put that look there.

Suddenly he felt something brush against him that lacked human warmth and he jerked back. He suddenly remembered the dildo and he pulled up, sort of kneeling with his arms and legs bracketing the writhing body beneath him.

"Uhm, Kurt, you wanna drop that thing first?"

Kurt blinked almost confusedly up at him. "Wha_? Huh?"

Puck nodded at the dildo that the other boy was still clutching and Kurt looked at it almost blankly before a little giggle escaped.

"Oh! My big boy making you nervous? You've nothing to worry about, Puck, sex-shark that you are."

Puck didn't know if he liked the almost mocking way that Kurt said that but he remembered how sarcastic Kurt could be and thought maybe it was just his way. He shrugged now and frowned a little.

"Hey, when you're gonna get a ride on the Puckzilla express, you don't need anything else, babe." He tried a sexy smirk as Kurt stared up at him, licking his lips occasionally and staring back at Puck in an almost challenging manner.

"Hmmm, we'll see. I read, though, that sometimes people need a little help… I am a virgin after all."

Kurt watched as Puck's pupils dilated more at the reminder of Kurt's virginity. He shivered a little and let his lashes drop in an outrageously coy manner. Puck didn't have a subtle bone in his body so Kurt knew he would fall for his innocent little virgin act. He licked his lips once more, loving the way Puck's eyes were riveted to the action, and continued.

"I've tried touching myself – I even bought a number of toys as well as this black beauty – but I only got as far as…" and he paused, forcing his voice to hitch slightly and get softer, "one finger."

Puck groaned and grabbed his cock tightly at the base. There was no way in hell he was going to jizz just because Kurt was being annoyingly sexy, no, unknowingly sexy, his mind corrected him. When he opened his eyes, Kurt was staring at him wide-eyed as if he couldn't understand what was happening with Puck. That look too, was a definite turn on.

Damn! Puck felt like somehow this whole thing was getting away from him. "Mmm, okay, well, ah, put down your black beauty and I'll do everything for you, okay?"

He tried to talk calmingly – keeping his voice low so the 'skittish' virgin didn't get alarmed even though he was almost hoarse with trying to maintain control.

Inwardly, Kurt was giggling at the almost pained expression on the sex shark's face. Kurt was nothing if not a good actor. He nodded slowly as if Puck was actually calming him down and then asked shyly, "So, are you going to fuck me now, Noah?"

"Jesus. Fuck!" Puck's body went rigid as he stared at Kurt's sweet, innocent face. "What the fuck? You can't go around asking people that!"

Kurt feigned confusion and then slowly-growing irritation. He made a point of looking around Puck's bedroom and then back at the other boy glowering down at him.

"What people, Noah? It's just us here, isn't it?"

Puck froze, his eyes involuntarily flicking to the hidden webcam and then he glared down at Kurt. "What? Of course it's just us. What the_? And stop calling me 'Noah'!"

Kurt's eyes widened and Puck groaned as they suddenly glistened with tears and hurt, watching helplessly as Kurt seemed to fold in on himself.

"No, no, no! I didn't mean that. Dammit, Kurt!" He grabbed Kurt's shoulder, for the other boy had rolled onto his side and pulled his legs up, almost as if shielding himself from Puck, and he tugged at him.

Kurt let himself be rolled onto his back but he bit his lip, refusing to look at Puck. He had wanted to turn this game back on Puck for revenge. Just now, though, when Puck had shouted at him, the unexpected hurt had been like a bucket of cold, dirty water thrown in his face.

He stared up at the other boy, neither of them saying anything, and then, with a sigh, Kurt slid up to sit before swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He didn't care about any damn plans right now, and he didn't care about the fucking camera taking in everything they were doing. He just wanted to get in his clothes and get out of there.

"Look, Kurt, I'm sorry. Please…"

Kurt slid back into his clothes and sat back on the bed to put on his socks and shoes. Noah was still kneeling on the bed, his body thick and beautiful with well-cared for muscles bulging in all the right places. Kurt's eyes dipped to the now flaccid cock that was still impressive, even in that state, and then he looked at Noah.

"Hand me my bag, please," he said quietly and watched as puzzlement clouded the brown eyes before Noah picked up the bag from where Kurt had dropped it. "Now look inside."

Puck stared at Kurt and then slowly slid his hand back inside the satchel. His eyes widened as he pulled out a pair of velvet-lined handcuffs. His comically wide eyes flew up to Kurt's and Kurt smiled involuntarily before shaking his head.

"Not that, underneath…"

Noah dipped his hand inside the bag and stared at a thick envelope as he withdrew it. He made to hand it to Kurt but Kurt got up off the bed, took the bag and started stuffing back his little 'toys' into it.

"No, that's yours."

Puck stared down at the envelope and his breath caught in his throat. He hefted the envelope and even without looking in it, he just knew what it was. He looked up at Kurt. "Kurt…?"

By this, Kurt was at the bedroom door, looking back at him with those beautiful blue eyes. There was a funny little smile on his face, but it didn't reach those eyes.

"Don't spend it all in one place, okay?"

Puck stared blindly at the door as it closed behind Kurt. He didn't even hear the front door close, nor did he hear the distinctive sound of Kurt's baby as he pulled out of the Puckerman driveway.

He startled a bit when he heard his mom and sister come in and when he glanced at the clock, he realized he had been sitting there for nearly an hour and it was already dark out. Almost on auto pilot, he got up, turned off the camera and his computer, effectively stopping its recording function, and sat again on the bed, still naked as Kurt had left him.

He ignored the sounds of first his mom calling to him and then his sister, knowing that neither of them would come into his room without his permission, and then delved into the envelope.

Two thousand dollars.

Kurt had handed him an envelope with two thousand dollars. Most of it was in used bills but some of it had that unnatural, smooth look as if it had just been handed to him by a bank teller.

As the night drew in, Puck didn't turn on a light; he just laid on his bed, drew his comforter over himself and stared at the ceiling.

Kurt had known. He had known everything and yet… he had still come to him. He had known that Puck was taping it, had known every dirty aspect of a singularly cruel prank and … he had still come.

Puck had done some stupid, cruel, unthinking things in his life and he had regretted some of them. Oh, yes, sleeping with Finn's girl, Quinn, had been one of those things. Knocking over an ATM and having to spend time in juvenile detention would be right up there on his resume of dumb fucking things that he would never do again.

He had known that he would regret agreeing to Rick Nelson's nasty plan; yet he had gone ahead and fist-bumped and smirked his way into a verbal contract with the giant asshole. What did that say about him, Noah Jacob Puckerman? What kind of douchebag did something like that to an unsuspecting, totally undeserving, sweet, awesomely-talented guy like Kurt, simply because he was gay?

Sure, he did need the two thousand dollars. Who couldn't use that kind of money these days? He, his ma and his sister certainly could. Things were tight with them and his ma had to pull double shifts at the hospital so often, he was practically bringing up his little sister himself.

Did that give him the right to plan and execute something as disgusting as what he'd been about to do to Kurt? Would he have been able to hand over the flash drive, showing Kurt writhing beneath him, coming and crying out his name, for the amusement of the jocks of McKinley High? Could he have sat around at their next stag party and laughed and pointed out, "Oh, oh, and watch this! This was the part I made him squeal like a girl! Hah hah hahhhh!" while fist-bumping with the other douches?

Long into the night, Noah laid there, castigating himself, hating himself as he never had before. By the following morning, deadline Monday if memory served, he had a plan.

.

**TBC**

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_Reviews make writers happy, folks!_


	5. Chapter Five

...

Kurt Hummel strode through the halls of McKinley High as if he owned them. His imperturbable air was as much his armor as his fashionable ensemble. Everyone knew that about him. Despite the many dumpster tosses, ice-cold, dye-laden slushies and jock-fuelled shoulder checks, everyone knew that nothing dented Kurt's armor.

Mercedes smiled as she fell into step beside her favorite 'white boy', her 'boo', her BFF.

"Looking exceptionally hot today, Kurt Hummel," she said now as she beamed, admiration evident in her bright brown eyes. She knew Kurt wore his clothes like a shield and now she eyed the gorgeous purple sweater that clung to his surprisingly toned shoulders and arms, along with the super-tight skinny white jeans tucked into laced-up black boots. He was also wearing a close-fitting multi-patterned vest that showed off his enviably slender waist and his slightly curving hips. She resisted the urge to look behind him to see what he looked like from that angle because she did not want to be accused of perving on her boy.

Still, she grinned at the looks – both surreptitious and blatant – that he drew as he strutted towards his locker. She had never understood why Kurt was so self-conscious; she happened to think he was gorgeous, even if his looks were slightly unusual. His nose was a little pointy, and so were his ears but, to her, it all added up to one fabulous package, a fitting consort to her own diva-liciousness, even if she said so herself.

"Why, thank you, Ms. Jones," Kurt smirked down at her, his voice smooth and light as usual as he opened his locker to pull out the books needed for his first period class.

Mercedes smirked back at him but then a little frown settled between her well-groomed eyebrows, her Spidey-senses tingling. Suddenly she slammed a hand on the locker door, preventing Kurt from closing it, and glared at him.

"Awww, hell no, white boy. Tell me you did not hook up with that punk over the weekend!"

Her strident voice caused several in the vicinity to turn around inquisitively but, with a glare from her, they turned back to their own business, and she turned back to her pink-cheeked friend. She was all set to launch into him again for keeping that juicy bit of info from her when his eyes went past her and the color drained from his face.

Turning her head to see the cause, thinking it was those two knuckleheads, Karofsky and Azimio, she looked puzzled when her eyes landed on Puck coming towards them with that patented sexy strut of his.

She turned back to Kurt, only to see him with his face almost entirely inside the locker.

"Kurt, boo, you okay?"

His rapidly nodding head was all the answer she got before Puck drew alongside them. She glared at the jock, glanced at Kurt's back again and then muttered, "See you in class," before stalking off.

"What do you want, Puckerman?"

Kurt's voice was cool and just barely this side of polite and Puck glared at the floor before slipping his hand past Kurt to deposit an envelope into the still-open locker. Kurt jerked and then stiffened, his wide eyes staring at the envelope before flying up to meet Puck's.

He was about to speak when Puck forestalled him. "Look, it's probably a waste to apologize, okay. If you know about the, uh," and here his façade of calm disinterest crumbled a bit, "I-uh, have to come up with something to tell the others."

Kurt, face still pale and biting his lip, nodded and then shrugged. "So, what are you going to tell them?"

Just then, unbeknownst to them, a trio of jocks had been passing and realized it was Puckerman and the fairy standing there. One of them made an obnoxious kissing sound and then the three sauntered off, cackling and high-fiving each other like the idiots they were. Kurt rolled his eyes but that was the only thing to indicate he had heard them. He looked at Puck with his eyebrows raised enquiringly, waiting for him to answer.

Puck was staring down the hallway after the three douchebags and he had a determined glint in his eye. When he looked back at Kurt, the look softened and he turned his eyes back down to the floor.

"Uhm, there's something I need to check out but, I think… I hope we won't hear anything more about this when I'm done. You don't have to worry."

Kurt looked at him, an unnaturally cynical gleam in his eye as he looked Puck up and down. To Puck it was as if this was a whole different Kurt from the blushing, smiling kid he had been on the verge of seducing, and a part of him knew this change was his fault. There was no one to blame but his faulty impulse control and lack of judgment.

"Listen, Puck," and Kurt said the name with such disdain, the jock almost flinched, but he knew he deserved it, "of all the things someone could have done to me, even counting the pee balloons, swirlies, etc., you must know that was low, even for you."

Guilt made Puck's gut tighten but he didn't flinch in the face of Kurt's displeasure. He was no pussy; he'd messed up and Kurt had a right to his opinions. It was a low thing to do, and Puck knew he personally wouldn't have put it so… politely. He nodded and waited for Kurt to continue, willingly accepting the abuse, such as it was.

"I want to thank you, though," Kurt continued, and Puck's eyes widened. "You made me realize that I'm stronger than I thought I was. So, thank you for that." His eyes flicked up and down Puck's body once more and the jock could almost feel it, it was so intense. "And I think we could have had... fun, but now you'll never know."

Kurt closed his locker door with a quiet deliberateness that served to underscore how _not_ angry he was with Puck. Puck got the message; he wasn't deserving of anymore of Kurt's attention than he'd had. He watched as Kurt walked away, back straight, shoulders loose and hips doing that thing that made even the straight guys look.

Kurt knew Puck was still watching and behind his armor, beneath his clothes, his heart was sinking again. He walked to his classroom, looking neither to the right nor the left and when he got to the door – it was AP French with not many students in it – he paused as a muscular, red-jacketed arm reached over his shoulder and pushed open the door for him. He automatically looked up and smiled politely, only to freeze.

He stared up into gold-green eyes, eyes that looked at him neutrally, flickered down to his lips and then back up.

Kurt forced himself to relax, drew in a breath and with a faint smile, murmured, "Thanks."

Dave Karofsky nodded negligibly, as if he opened the door for the likes of Kurt Hummel every day, and as the diva passed him, Dave looked down the hallway to see Puckerman glaring back at him.

A smug little smile tweaked the corner of Dave's mouth and he turned to follow Kurt into their classroom.

.

…

.

"Settle down! I said 'SETTLE DOWN', you wastes of space!"

Sue Sylvester's harsh tones, unnecessarily amplified by her ever-present megaphone, echoed achingly loud around the gymnasium, causing many of the kids gathered there – and a few teachers as well – to wince. The satisfaction she got from that was evident in the cruel smirk that thinned her lips to pink slivers.

The students looked around at each other, noting that it was only jocks and Cheerios present, and some wondered exactly why they had been called there. There were whispers, of course, rumors both outrageous and banal, and they all settled down gradually to hear what their psycho cheerleading coach and Deputy Principal had to say. Principal Figgins for once was standing behind and to Sue's side, watching the students with a disappointed air. Well, that was usual for him, as was Sue's venomous expression as she waited impatiently to start talking.

Finally, with a wailing screech from her megaphone, Coach Sylvester launched into a rambling, vituperative discourse on how much she hated all their guts, thought they were all going to end up in shallow graves, courtesy of a drug cartel, or else selling their disease-ridden bodies to corpulent businessmen on garbage-filled streets in a poverty-stricken Third World country for fare to get back home. After about five minutes of this, with both the students and teachers flinching at the flying spittle that accompanied the tirade, Sue got down to business.

"Now, as much as I hate the smell of teenage hormones, which is almost enough to have me projectile vomiting repeatedly, I am here to say this – and I will not say it again. Anyone caught after this so much as putting a toe out of line will, indeed, find him or herself in a shallow grave, courtesy of my Black Ops ex-partners.

"It has COME to my attention that SEVERAL of you here have decided to go into the business of producing… PORNOGRAPHIC FILMS!"

The gym erupted – well, for the most part, the clueless ones burst into loud and angry chatter – and Sue once again keyed the button on her megaphone to almost puncture the listeners' eardrums.

"SHUT UP! This is NOT a discussion. I don't care WHO knew or who didn't. I have a list of the culprits – but never say that Sue Mengele Sylvester is not without mercy – I will allow said culprits to come to my office before the end of the day. Failing their appearance – and, remember, I know exactly who you all are – I will send said list to the fine officers of the Lima Sheriff's Department.

"You know, of course, that possessing child pornography is a heinous crime, and conspiring to film such is punishable – at least in my book – by death."

Principal Figgins knew the bare bones of the situation – not the names of the students involved – but he was just as furious that his school's reputation should be besmirched by such a revolting situation. What would the Board members say if he failed to get a grip on the situation? There would probably have to be a review and maybe his own performance as principal would come into question. He was a little surprised that Sue wasn't using it as a bid to oust him and set herself up as Principal in his stead.

Now he watched as most of the students stared back at Sue in horror. She could be a most frightening sight at the best of times. Now she was almost foaming at the mouth, she was that furious.

To the left of the podium, Kurt sat near to the back with the other members of the Cheer squad, nearly three dozen of them from the three upper years. He shrank back as his mind whirled in confusion, wondering if this was what Puck had meant earlier when he said he had to check something out. To think the jock would actually approach their crazy cheerleading coach to handle the situation – wow! Kurt was still reeling at the thought.

At the opposite side of the gym, Finn, sitting with the Glee jocks, turned his head slightly to look at Puck's impassive face. Finn had to admit he was amazed at the brass balls Puck must have to even approach Coach Sylvester, knowing the kind of damage the woman could do with the kind of information Puck must have given her. His affection for his friend, that had gone AWOL for the last couple of weeks, surged back and he remembered why Puck had been his best friend from they were in cub scouts together.

He 'accidentally on purpose' bumped his elbow against Puck's but the other jock just grunted softly. 'Nuff said.

Puck, for his part, was almost sick with fear and it was only years of hiding behind his badass, sex shark, Lima whore persona that allowed him to sit there as if he had not a single clue as to what that crazy woman on the dais was talking about.

It gave him great pleasure to glance over, though, and see the way that asswipe Rick Nelson had turned this awful shade of pale that verged on green. If the guys in front of him didn't watch out, they would probably soon find the backs of their necks steaming with the fucker's vomit. Puck grinned inwardly at the thought because those guys were some of the ones who had been most vocal in getting Puck to 'screw the little fairy and film it', all for their sick entertainment.

Puck's spirit plummeted though as he recalled the moment he had stepped into Sue's office and stood before her desk, his very soul trembling at the malicious look she had speared him with.

"Well, Puckerman, come to confess to knocking up one of my other Cheerios? Which idiot is it this time? Not one of my top girls, is she?"

Puck had shuddered at the utterly disdainful way she had said this but he could also see the deep-down anger that always seemed to drive this woman. He took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and … sat down.

Sue's eyes had widened at that and just as she had been about to blast him, he blurted: "Child pornography!"

She had reared back in her seat, her nostrils flared and her blue eyes surrounded by white as she stared back at him. She said nothing for all of maybe ten seconds and then:

"Puckerman, you had better know what you're talking about or I will kick your not inconsiderable backside from here to Columbus. Explain!"

Puck was smart enough not to name names at the start of his explanation. He simply told her that a bunch of jocks was setting up one of their own to target one of the 'loser' kids. They wanted said jock to film the 'event' so that they could watch it at one of their customary stag parties.

Sue's skin alternately paled and flushed as she listened to Puck and Puck had thought that, by the end of his recitation, she was going to actually launch herself across the desk and throttle him. He had never been so scared in his whole useless life!

However, she calmed herself and by the time he had stuttered to the end, finally naming names and admitted that he was the one picked to 'do the deed', she had sat back in her chair and gazed off into the middle distance. He rather thought she was picturing some long-ago incident in her head and it suddenly hit him that maybe she'd been, or been witness to, such a prank herself.

Finally, she had turned back to him, clasped her hands tightly on the desk before her, and told him to get his sorry ass back to class; she never wanted to see his ugly face in her office again. He had strutted – okay, scurried – out of her office, glad to be away from her at last. However, he was equally glad that someone in authority could now handle the nasty situation he, in his eternal stupidity, had got himself into.

Now he looked across the gym to where the Cheerios were sitting, all the boy ones seated farther back on the higher risers. His eyes quickly picked out Kurt, who was staring wide-eyed down at Coach Sylvester, but suddenly his gaze flicked towards Puck and they stared at each other.

Puck felt like nothing short of a bomb – or a blast from Sue's megaphone – could have broken the stare but eventually Kurt looked away. Puck felt himself breathe again, releasing a breath he had not realized he'd been holding, and then his eyes fell on Karofsky.

Karofsky, sitting in a mixed group of football and hockey players, stared at Puck with a measuring look before turning his attention back to where Coach Sylvester was still prowling across the stage like an angry panther. Seriously, she was actually snarling at them, ignoring a question some idiot had dared to ask.

"Now, if it has finally sunk into the putrid ooze that passes for brains stuffing your oversized heads, GET OUT OF HERE!"

The students made a mad dash for the gym doors, Jacob ben Israel gabbling madly into his ever-present tape recorder. Puck groaned as he realized that the muck-raking little dweeb was no doubt gearing up for another edition of his gossip-laden blog and he sincerely hoped he didn't cross his path. It had been a while since Puck had given anyone a swirly but Jewfro would be in for it if he was foolish enough to try and 'interview' Puck.

He sauntered down from his spot on the risers, Finn, Mike and the others close behind him, and ignored all the muttering and whispering around him. Suddenly he felt a large hand tug on his elbow and he looked up to see Finn staring at him and nodding his head to the side, indicating some doors.

Puck moved out of the stream of kids exiting the gym and headed towards one of the locker rooms, sure to be empty of frightened kids trying to get out of Coach Sylvester's crazed sights.

He turned around and waited for Finn to join him, sighing as he dropped his satchel and rolled his shoulders tiredly.

"Dude! That was awesome!"

Puck stared up at his lifelong friend, his mouth dropping open slightly. "What _?"

Finn shook his head, his hands waving in front of him frantically, all while grinning like a loon. "No, I mean, that you got Coach Sylvester to do this, man! That took some seriously big ones!"

Puck relaxed as he deciphered the Finn-speak. A corner of his lips twitched up and then he sighed, shaking his head. "Dude, I should never have gotten into it with those Puckheads. I- Kurt doesn't…" he trailed off and looked at the floor, surprisingly clean for being in a school.

Finn moved closer and bumped his fist against Puck's shoulder. "Dude, I get it, okay? They probably dared you. I know you, Puck; you can't help yourself sometimes."

Puck didn't raise his head as he felt his throat tighten. Man, he really did not need Finn being understanding right now. He wanted to wallow in his famously Jewish guilt, a thing he was familiar with from his mother. He should never have fallen in with the plan, especially as Kurt was his BFF's new brother. Kurt, so strong and beautiful, he always made Puck feel lower than dirt, especially now.

He sank back against one of the banks of lockers and raised his head to look at his best friend. Finn was looking back at him as if he could see right through Puck and although it was uncomfortable, he didn't shy away from the look.

"Dude," Finn started again, a slightly confused look coming over his face. "Were you just pretending… all that time you and Kurt looked like you were having fun? Was it just the plan?"

Puck stared at Finn, horrified that the other boy would break the bro-code and just come right out with a question about *gasp* feelings! His mouth dropped open as his mind gibbered, wanting to, but scared to speak the truth out loud. Suddenly…

"Yeah, Puckerman, I want to know, too. Was it just the plan?"

Both boys spun around, startled by the intruder's harsh voice. Puck felt himself flash hot and then nauseatingly cold but Finn stepped forward before he could find his voice.

"Hey, what is it to you? Why are you even in here, Karofsky? Huh, are you sorry Puck didn't go through with the plan?"

"Fuck you, Hudson!" Dave, who was shorter than Finn but definitely heavier, stepped up into the taller boy's space. "I DIDN'T WANT IT TO HAPPEN, OKAY?!"

The silence that followed that declaration had a strange quality to it. The reverberations from the angry words seemed to echo out, like ripples in a pond, and the three boys could hear the last lingering hurried footsteps of the other students and teachers as they left. The building got that unnatural feeling that large buildings did when empty.

Finn glared at one of his brother's most vocal bullies and groped for words. Karofsky was staring at him, those weird, Vulcan-like eyebrows of his drawn way down over his eyes and his breathing sounding loud in the continuing silence. Finally, Finn stepped back and looked over at Puck who had yet to say anything.

Dave looked at Puck too, his eyes angry but his posture relaxing slightly. "So, what is it, Puckerman? Why'd you agree to do it?"

Puck stared at him, a hard look in his eyes. "You didn't answer Finn, Karofsky. Why are you so suddenly interested? What, did 'the gay' rub off on you this morning?"

Finn looked between the two angry boys confusedly. "What? What about this morning? And yeah, why are you even in here, dude?"

The other two ignored Finn as they stared at each other. Yeah, classic National Geographic moment here. _'See the challenger face off against the herd leader…'_

Dave huffed and finally answered them, straightening up and taking a step back towards the door. "I just think the whole thing was a shitty idea, okay? No one, not even the fairy, deserves something like that."

Finn bristled at the word. "Hey, that's my brother you're talking about!"

Dave rounded on him. "Stop acting like a fucking saint, Hudson, because you're not! You're no better than me or Puckerman or Azimio, heck, even Nelson!"

"Now, wait just a _!"

"No! You used to bully Kurt just like the rest of us! Ever since you joined that fucking Glee club, though, you've been walking around here like you're saint and protector of that bunch of losers!"

Dave's voice was loud but Puck's was louder as he yelled, "Stop fucking hiding, Karofsky! I know you! You want Kurt, don't you?!"

Finn gaped at Puck and then, slowly, his head turned towards the lumbering jock and his jaw dropped in sudden realization. "Oh."

A stricken look appeared on Dave's face and for a second Puck thought he was going to lash out at them. What he did next surprised the hell out of Puck and he stepped back closer to Finn as the larger jock sank down onto one of the changing room benches.

Dave dropped his head between his shoulders and they lifted as he drew a huge breath. Finally he looked up at the two boys staring back at him wide-eyed.

"Yes, okay? Yes! Fuck you anyway, I don't care if you know. I'm tired of hiding… and I'm tired of having him look at me like…"

"Dirt."

Dave's eyes flew up to Puck's and held. "Yeah."

Finn backed away now from both of them. He uttered a funny little laugh and rubbed the back of his neck before looking at first Puck, then Dave. "Uhm, okay, so… ahm what, you guys are gay now… for Kurt?!"

And just like that the tension in the locker room broke and first Puck, then Dave, found himself laughing almost hysterically at the comical look on Finn's face. If the Twilight Zone theme had suddenly started playing, none of the jocks would have been particularly surprised. Someone coming into the locker room just then would have seen two jocks laughing while the third stood there looking from one to the other with a massive air of bewilderment about him.

They finally wound down and then Dave looked at Puck. "So, why Coach Sylvester; why not Figgins?"

Puck shrugged but he had a slight uptilt to the corner of his lips. "It just seemed like it was something that would trigger that Crazy Sue side to her. For some odd reason, she seems to like…"

He shrugged again but continued. "And Figgins would have just swept it under the rug because he'd be scared of what the fucking Board would have done."

Dave nodded. "Yeah, I don't know how he's been Principal so long." Then he looked up at Finn. "Look, I'm not excusing my behavior, okay? It's just… you can't imagine what it's been like, hanging with people like Nelson and Azimio and being… what I am."

His voice trailed off at the end and he was looking down at his huge trainers by then. Puck, though, sort of grunted in understanding. "Yeah, really, I do know. I'm kinda bi, myself, but I know my rep has me screwing all these Cheerios and MILFs. The other guys… they just wouldn't get it."

Finn suddenly burst out, "They would kick your asses, that's what… and then they'd blame Kurt!"

Sadly, they all knew that was true.

They stood there for a couple of minutes, just digesting that thought and then suddenly, Dave surged to his feet. "You know what, I'm no pussy! Screw them! If they have a problem with me, they're going to have to deal with me upfront. I'm tired of this shit, and the first person who crosses me, I'm going to fuck them up good. I just don't care anymore!"

Finn reared back, holding up his hands and waving them frantically at Dave's flushed, angry face. "Dude, what the_?! You can't just go off on people!"

Dave lowered his head, dropping it between his shoulders, bull-like and demanded, "Why the fuck not? Huh? Tell me, Hudson, what do you want me to do – talk to them about how we're all created equal, wave rainbow flags and start going to Pride marches? This is Lima fucking Ohio, dude! Get real!"

Puck suddenly made a scoffing sound. "Nah, dude, surprisingly, I kinda agree with Finn. We can't just walk around kicking anybody's ass that looked at us funny. We can start by not putting up with the trash talk that we're kinda famous for, though."

"Yeah," Finn was nodding like a bobble-head dog. "Just… we've got to be reasonable, okay? And first, we've got to get the rest of the guys onside with this."

Both Puck and Dave looked at him confusedly. "What guys, dude? It's just us."

"No, it isn't, Puck. You just haven't noticed that it's just a handful of guys who say and do the really hateful stuff, okay."

Dave looked at him thoughtfully, and then he sighed. "Yeah, Hudson's right. And I can name them, too."

Puck looked between the other two jocks and realized he knew who they meant. "Okay, so that means the majority of the guys aren't really douche-bags? They just go along with what the alpha assholes want to do?"

Dave grinned at that description but nodded. "Yeah, us 'alpha assholes'," and his hand flicked between himself and Puck who quirked an eyebrow at him but then relented.

"Yeah, so how I see it is that, if we sort of band together – no one stupid enough to be by himself – the assholes can't jump us."

"Yeah, and that way we can protect Kurt, too," Finn piped up, grinning when both boys turned to stare at him. "What? You're both into him, so that shouldn't be too hard."

Dave felt his cheeks heating up and for once envied Puckerman his darker skin tone. He looked at Finn, shook his head and sighed. "Yeah, okay, and protect Kurt, too."

As they finally exited the locker room, the silence of the gym weighed down on them, almost as if it was underlining the seriousness of what they were embarking on.

.

**TBC**


	6. Chapter Six

...

Kurt laid on his bed, staring up at the ceiling but his mind was far away. Well, not all that far, distance-wise. No, he was thinking back to earlier that day in the school's gymnasium.

What on earth had possessed Puck to take their problem to Coach Sylvester, he couldn't imagine. He didn't doubt that Sue could handle the situation, but that was like using a nuclear bomb to deal with a slight infestation problem!

Kurt, along with the rest of the student body, had been thoroughly cowed by the sight of the woman pacing across the dais, spewing vitriol at all of them, students and teachers alike. Kurt almost admired her zeal… almost.

He grinned as he remembered glancing over at Rick Nelson and seeing the unhealthy pallor of his skin. Kurt would've loved to have been a fly on the wall of that office. Confessing to being the instigator of a plot to solicit underage sex tapes is not a recommendation for a long and healthy life, no sir!

Kurt burst into giggles that rapidly turned to loud, snorting laughter. It served the ginger bastard right if Sue emasculated him and his cronies right then and there. He was still giggling when there was a tentative knock at the door. He rolled his eyes and sat up, straightening his t-shirt that had ridden up in his fit of hysterical mirth.

"Come in, Finn."

Of course he knew it was Finn. His dad's knock was far more assertive. Finn was the only one who knocked as if he thought Kurt was going to throw a boot at his head, not that Kurt wasn't tempted sometimes.

"So, you okay?"

Finn's soft question made Kurt almost roll his eyes again. He sat up and strolled over to his couch, curling his legs up as he took up the most recent Vogue and flipped through it. "Why wouldn't I be, Finn? Are you okay?"

Finn was showered and fresh and looked like such a little boy as he stood there fiddling with the ragged hem of his tired old sweatshirt. Kurt smirked as he looked at it, remembering the one he had snitched and altered and that he'd then worn to Puck's house. As he thought of Puck he sobered slightly.

Finn took his question as an invitation to sit and he slid to a spot on the floor at Kurt's feet. Even sitting on the ground, Finn's head was almost on a level with Kurt's and he stared now at the smaller boy with a slight twinkle in his eyes.

"Today was awesome, wasn't it?"

Kurt couldn't hold back the giggle and he didn't try very hard; his cheeks flushed as he laughed and a cynical gleam showed in his blue eyes just briefly. "I was just thinking that I hoped Sue emasculated the shits!"

Finn's eyes widened at the swear word and then looked confused at… "Emas_ what?"

"Cut off their balls, Finn. I'd hoped Sue would do that." And he grinned at the wince Finn couldn't hold back.

"Dude, that's harsh!"

Kurt did roll his eyes then. "Oh, please, that would have been fitting, considering what they had been planning. Can you imagine that tape getting on the Internet, my dad seeing it, hearing people talking about it? Where did you think it was going to end up, Finn, in a secret vault?!"

He was shouting by the time he was finished and had shot to his feet, staring down at an almost cowering Finn. Kurt made a little screaming sound in the back of his throat and proceeded to pace on the beautiful Persian rug he had hunted down that he'd thought brought his décor together perfectly. He was just glad that it was so comfortable to his bare feet as he paced back and forth now, unconsciously mimicking the way Sue had behaved earlier.

"Those bastards!" He raged and cursed for a couple of minutes, probably less but Finn was too scared, watching his brother let out all his anger and hurt.

"Kurt, I-I'm sorry, okay? Please…" Finn's quiet voice finally reached through the angry haze surrounding Kurt and the slimmer boy came back over and collapsed on the floor beside him.

"Why are you apologizing, big guy?" He looked at Finn with a sad little smile, one that Finn realized he hadn't seen in a while, all the time that Puck had been 'wooing' his brother. His heart clenched at the thought of his best friend's actions and he sighed.

"I'm sorry, on behalf of me and all those other meatheads who made your life miserable, I guess," he almost whispered, staring down at the pretty rug on which they were sitting.

His soft confession brought a look of wonder to Kurt's face and for a moment, Finn could definitely see what both Puck and Dave saw in his brother. Kurt was kinda pretty, in a slightly girly way, and he realized if he wanted to live to see eighteen, he should probably keep that thought to himself.

"Well, uhm, something else happened today but I'm not sure I should tell you," Finn said now, his eyes dropping to his hands and thereby piquing Kurt's curiosity.

Kurt slapped him lightly on the leg and pushed him. "Hey, you can't say something like that and then leave me hanging, Finn!"

The lighter, almost happier tone to Kurt's voice made Finn look up and he grinned now, glad that the atmosphere was not volca_ something_ anymore. Kurt might be a little guy, compared to him and Dave and Puck, but he could bring a world of misery down on anyone who pissed him off. He was kind of badass like that.

Finn smirked as he looked at Kurt who was practically vibrating with curiosity, and leaned back. "What do I get if I tell you a secret?"

"Finn Hudson, you_, you_! If it's a secret, you're not supposed to tell at all!"

"Oh," Finn said now, "so you don't want to know?"

"Of course, I do, what do you take me for?"

They both laughed before Finn sobered slightly and leaned forward conspiratorially, even though they were the only two people in the whole house.

"I know someone who likes you…"

Kurt stayed leaning toward Finn for a second before pulling back, his mouth open a little and his eyes wide. "Dammit, Finn, what are you, five?!"

Finn laughed at the frustrated look on the smaller teen's face and shook his head. "Nope, can't tell you more than that. He'll have to tell you himself."

Kurt pouted and Finn held his sides and laughed. Kurt was pretty funny, doing that huffy thing he does and not realizing that he didn't look threatening at all. Suddenly, Kurt narrowed his eyes at the large jock and reached out to grip Finn's forearm tightly.

"It's not Puck, is it?" He barely got the words out through gritted teeth.

"Ow, ow, leggo! Jesus, Kurt, you have a grip like a pit bull!" Finn pouted and rubbed at his arm, sure he could see bruises coming up already.

"Stop being a baby, Finnegan Hudson, and tell me who it is!"

"I can't," Finn was still pouting. "But it's not Puck, okay? And anyway, you know Puck's sorry about the whole thing, and he_ uh, he kinda does like you_ that way."

Kurt's cheeks colored as he turned away in a huff, not about to admit that the jock still made his breath catch, especially when he remembered their two weeks of kissing and touching. Kurt wrapped his arms around him and tried to banish the memories. Damn Puck anyway. They could have had something hot, something really good, but now…

He turned to look at Finn who was still looking like someone had taken his last cookie, and that thought triggered a desire in him to bake up a batch of chocolate chip cookies. He could drown his sorrows in the cookies and maybe a movie marathon and he looked over at Finn now with a slight smile on his face.

"If you tell me who it is, I'll bake you up some chocolate chip cookies…"

Finn's eyes widened and Kurt could see the struggle going on in his food-loving soul.

"It's Dave Karofsky!"

Kurt stared at Finn, eyes wide and head spinning, wondering if he had heard right. He spluttered for a bit – damn his lisp – before finally getting out, "K-Ka-Karofsky?!"

Finn nodded, already getting to his feet and reaching down to haul Kurt to his. "Yeah, yeah, Karofsky. Let's go do those cookies."

Kurt stumbled after his brother, even forgetting to put shoes on, and followed the lumbering boy up his basement stairs.

…

The delicious aroma of baking cookies wafted through the air and Kurt sat and watched Finn watching the oven. Kurt laughed softly when the ding of the timer caused Finn to jerk and he got up, took up his oven mitt and removed the tray with the large, chocolate-chip-studded cookies onto a cooling rack.

"Let them cool first, Finn!" Kurt's bark made Finn draw back his hand so quickly it almost spun him around and Kurt laughed again. "Good Gaga, it's almost as if you've never been fed. Go get the milk now."

Finn dashed to get the glasses and then took the carton of two per cent milk out of the refrigerator. Kurt shook his head as he watched his brother and then realized a funny thing. The act of putting the cookie dough together and then sitting and waiting for them to bake had calmed him somewhat and now he could allow himself to think clearly about what Finn had said, prior to coming upstairs.

David Karofsky 'liked' him. Huh, ain't that a kicker, a cynical little voice in Kurt's head chimed in. One of his biggest bullies was not only gay, he was apparently into Kurt himself. All that ridiculous posturing, Kurt shook his head as he took off the oven mitt, I wonder what goes through these peoples' minds!

Kurt grinned to himself, thinking how weird life could be and then, deeming the cookies cooled just enough to be lifted without breaking, transferred them onto a large plate. He glanced up to see Finn practically drooling as he stared at what Kurt was doing and, taking pity on him, Kurt finally nodded.

"Thanksh, dude," Finn muttered around the first bite of the still-warm cookie. "Thish is great!"

Kurt actually laughed out loud as he watched him, and Finn congratulated himself inwardly for helping to put that little light back into Kurt's eyes. It had been tearing him up, knowing what he'd known, and that Kurt would be hurt when he told him. Finn still couldn't understand why Puck put himself into situations like that but, eh, people were all different.

He sat and munched his way through six cookies to Kurt's two and when he finally drained the last of his milk, grinning when Kurt made a disgusted face at him, he sat back with a satisfied sigh.

"So, what else do you want to know?"

He grinned at the way Kurt's bright blue eyes widened at him and he nodded. "I know you, Kurt; you're dying to find out how I knew Karofsky liked you."

Kurt patted away the crumbs in that almost cat-like way he had of always staying clean and then nodded. "Okay, go ahead. You're a veritable font of information today, aren't you?"

Finn looked puzzled at the unfamiliar words but then shrugged and explained. "Well, see, today, after Sue almost exploded on the stage," and Kurt couldn't hold back the cascade of giggles, causing Finn to grin, "Puck and I were talking in the locker room and Karofsky came in."

Finn proceeded to relate to Kurt almost the entirety of the locker room confrontation, ignoring the fluctuating color in the smaller boy's face. When he finished, he snuck his hand forward for another cookie and Kurt, after a squint-eyed look, let him.

They sat in silence for a bit and then Kurt sighed, loudly and suddenly. Finn jumped and looked at him wide-eyed. "Uhm, so what are you going to do?"

Kurt looked at him, his eyebrows furrowing briefly. "About what? You mean those two idiots?"

Finn nodded eagerly as he chewed. This situation was so far out of anything in his admittedly limited experience, he was actually intrigued. He never would have thought he would one day find himself sitting and chatting with his brother about the guys who liked him. Liked him as in wanted to get into his skinny jeans. Ugh, that's a thought, Finn grimaced to himself.

Kurt shrugged. "We'll have to see, won't we?"

…

Mercedes stared as a veritable phalanx of Glee jocks waited for Kurt to exit his baby. Despite the cool, almost haughty look on Kurt's face, she knew her friend well enough to know he was feeling a bit freaked out about it. However, he manfully ignored the jocks and strutted his way across the car park and up the school's front steps.

She suppressed a grin as she watched him walk towards her, noting the color high on his cheekbones and the way his full lips were pressed into a firm line. He looked to neither the right nor the left, even when Finn sort of stumbled, bumped into one of the other guys and muttered what looked like a sheepish apology, even from where she was standing.

When Kurt drew level with her, she hooked her arm through his elbow, lifted her chin, too, and they made their way towards his locker, as per usual. They had first period English Lit together so she waited with him as he retrieved the book they were doing, turning around to eye the jocks lounging around, trying to look as if they normally waited to escort Kurt to classes.

Kurt rolled his eyes surreptitiously when he closed his locker door and then he glanced at Finn with a smile. His brother returned it with a huge grin of his own and then they all moved off, the jocks creating a wedge through the milling student body in the hallways and closing in behind them. There were only about seven of them but as they were jocks, hello, everyone normally moved out of the way for them. What was unusual, and some of the other kids had no idea why it was happening, was that they surrounded two of the Glee club 'losers'.

Mercedes felt like royalty with her very own entourage and she flicked a disdainful look at Jacob ben Israel with his ridiculous tape recorder and his videographer scurrying after them. The jocks were all silent and the denizens of McKinley started generating all sorts of rumors as to why they surrounded the Jones girl and the gay kid, Hummel.

Just as ben Israel opened his mouth to fire a question at Kurt, however, a huge paw planted itself in his face and pushed him back roughly. No one saw exactly which of the jocks did it but as the group moved down the final hallway, Karofsky turned his head to look menacingly at the young 'journalist'.

Jacob swallowed convulsively; he knew that look because he had recorded it often enough directed at the same kid all the jocks were now protecting.

By the time they reached the English Lit classroom, Kurt's cheeks were blazing but he strutted inside with his head held high and took his customary seat. Mercedes slid into the one beside him and they absolutely did not refer to the strangeness that was their morning thus far.

Lunch time was a repeat of the earlier morning, except that some of the faces of Kurt's entourage were different. He didn't question it, realizing that to maintain all their dignity, this was the right thing to do. When he stepped into the lunch line, too, there were non-threatening jocks before and behind him; that, too, he ignored.

Throughout the whole lunch break, Kurt was almost preternaturally aware of Puck's eyes on him. The jock made no effort to talk to Kurt but Kurt could feel the heat of his gaze and he made sure not to look in his direction. A time would come, he just knew it, when Puck would want to apologize but they both knew this wasn't the time. The feeling of betrayal was still too fresh but, if he were being honest, Kurt knew that Puck did regret his actions.

He sighed as he ate the salad he'd brought to accompany the woefully inadequate and calorie-laden food that was the usual school cafeteria fare. I mean, what's in mystery meat, really? His brow furrowed as he tried not to wrinkle his nose at the amorphous entity on his tray.

He was more than happy when the bell rang and there was a general shuffle towards the door, the members of his ersatz security team ranging themselves around him and Mercedes once more. This day couldn't end soon enough, he muttered to himself, shaking his head when his friend looked askance at him.

…

As the last period ended and students dispersed to either their homes or extra-curricular activities, the situation suddenly changed. Kurt and Mercedes, along with Brittany, Santana, Quinn and Tina, were striding along, chatting blithely about Schue's possible plans for their upcoming performances when the atmosphere in the corridor grew ominous. Several kids who had been walking ahead of the Gleeks stiffened, flattened themselves against the wall, and then scurried away.

Kurt and the girls were oblivious as they strode along. The Glee jocks had had football practice as their last period but the Cheerios had had a free period. They had joined up with Mercedes and Tina and were now nearing the choir room. Suddenly, at the end of the corridor, they noticed that shadows too large to belong to any but jocks appeared on the wall at the bend.

Tina was the first to react and actually gasped, her eyes widening. Santana and Brittany turned just in time to see some of the hockey jocks swaggering towards them, smirks on their faces.

Kurt stopped abruptly and then pushed his way to the front of his group. He was the only boy present and his heart thudded in his chest as he watched the jocks' approach. He noticed that Nelson was absent, along with Strando and a couple others he figured had had their asses handed to them by Sue, but he lifted his chin and stared down the idiot in the lead.

"Hey, hey, ladies, what's shaking up those skirts?" The clown guffawed and the others followed suit.

"You're blocking the way and smelling it up, too," Santana yelled, coming up beside Kurt, her dark eyes flashing.

"Hey, Lopez, sucked any cock lately… that's not a strap-on?"

The roar of laughter drowned out the gasps from the girls and Kurt. Mercedes barreled forward, her nostrils wide and chest heaving. The guy in front stepped forward and stared her down, an ugly look on his face and Kurt hauled 'Cedes back by the arm.

"Don't, Mercedes," he sneered as he stared back at the lummox, "they're not worth it."

He hadn't even finished saying that when sudden pain exploded in his face and he heard someone scream.

.

**TBC**


	7. Chapter Seven

…

What followed was hazy; all Kurt knew was that there was pain, a lot of yelling – some in Spanish he didn't understand – and someone near him was crying loudly.

Suddenly, Coach Sylvester's megaphone blared and the melee halted. Someone knelt beside Kurt and took his head, placing it into a soft lap. That was the person who was crying and water dripped on his face. He knew that Coach Sylvester was yelling and then he could also hear Bieste and Schue's voices. Kurt figured he must have lost some time because the next thing he knew, he was in the sick bay and Finn was leaning over him.

"Dude, I… I'm so sorry, man."

Finn looked as if he were on the verge of crying and Kurt frowned at him confusedly. "Finn, what happened?"

The next face was Miss Pillbury's and she helped Kurt sit up and sip water from a little paper cup. She stayed beside him and spoke softly.

"Kurt, what do you remember?"

Kurt looked around at all the worried faces and then realized he couldn't see out of one eye. He got the sense that there were a lot of people hovering at the door to the sickbay but he couldn't tell who they all were.

"Uhm, I-we were heading to the choir room, the girls and me, and then…" he trailed off as it got fuzzy from there. He saw Miss Pillsbury look at the nurse with a worried look and then he continued, "…and then a bunch of idiot Puckheads decided to beat up on us."

Miss Pillsbury's quick sigh of relief was drowned out by the sudden noise coming from the outer room. Kurt glanced up in time to see the other football Gleeks forcing their way into the room. Everyone was shouting it seemed and Kurt could actually see Tina and Brittany crying, Santana's arm around her girlfriend's waist.

Kurt realized that Mercedes was actually on his blind side and he reached out his hand for her. She leaned over and whispered, "They called your dad" and he slumped. That was the last thing he had wanted and he frowned, groaning suddenly as the action made the pain in his left eye intensify.

The nurse looked at him apologetically. "I'm afraid I can't give you a painkiller, Kurt; we need to know if you have a concussion."

"Concussion! Oh, fuck, that's it – let's go!"

Puck's shout had all the football Gleeks surging out of the sickbay and it was only Sue's stentorian voice that stopped them.

" **NONE** OF YOU IDIOTS IS GOING ANYWHERE – UNTIL I SAY SO!"

Everyone cringed at the volume and Kurt moaned again, leaning into Mercedes' ample embrace. He just wanted to get out of there and lie down in his cool, basement bedroom with a cold compress on his head. He was kind of tired of the drama – he just wanted to sleep.

He must have muttered that last because Miss Pillsbury, whom he had almost forgotten was there, patted his shoulder consolingly.

"You can't sleep just yet, Kurt. I'm sorry, it's the whole concussion thing."

Kurt could feel Mercedes nodding and just sighed. Outside, Sue had eschewed the use of the bullhorn but Kurt could still hear her.

"Do you idiots want to be expelled, too?"

"Expelled!"

That was Finn, but Sue barreled over him. "Yes, the players who attacked my Cheerios will be expelled, I'll see to that. We cannot condone violence; we mightn't have a zero tolerance policy like some other school districts but we will draw a line."

Her words brought a loud response, some of the guys still advocating that they find the assholes that had attacked the girls and Kurt and teaching them a lesson. Sue shushed them.

"I can go one better, gentlemen," and there was a sort of grim satisfaction in her voice, Kurt could hear. "What I heard that baboon say to Lopez here was so offensive, it just might fall into the 'hate crime' category."

That silenced them because the football players had no idea what it was that had been said. However, the fact that Sue had been present for part of the confrontation and only stepped in when things had escalated, seemed to indicate that she had been expecting something like this to happen.

Kurt almost shook his head at the woman's Machiavellian turn of mind but the pain in his face prevented him. Just then he heard the most welcome voice in the world and tears sprang to his eye.

"Dad!"

Burt Hummel, as everyone knew, loved his son like a mama bear her cub and everyone moved out of the way as he surged towards Kurt and wrapped him up in his arms. The women and Mercedes moved out of the room into the outer office and listened as the man comforted his son, brushing back the boy's thick hair lovingly.

Mercedes joined Tina who was leaning against Mike and they all watched as Kurt slowly pulled himself back together. Finn, though, had the most miserable expression on his face. As Burt and Kurt moved out of the sickbay, Finn approached Burt and started to apologize.

"Burt, I'm_" he began but the older man stopped him in his tracks.

"Don't, Finn, it's not your fault, son. Come on, your mom's waiting at the hospital. She'll have them look Kurt over."

It was a somber crowd that headed out to the parking lot and their cars. Most of them called goodbye to the Hummels and Finn while Kurt was settled into his dad's truck. Someone would come and fetch Kurt's car later, apparently.

Some of the guys stood around watching the Hummels' car pull out of the school parking lot and then, almost at a signal, they all headed to their vehicles, calling out "later" or "see you!" Among them were Puck and Dave Karofsky and, without a word, they turned their vehicles towards the hospital.

…

The doctor who checked Kurt over was pretty quick about it in a pleasant, professional way. He kept both Carole, Finn's mom and Kurt's stepmom calm while informing Burt that Kurt should be kept home for a couple of days so he didn't strain his good eye. He gave Burt and Carole instructions regarding what Kurt could and could not do, including leaning over or bending forward, plus a bag with some medications and their instructions. The doctor had looked at Finn at one point, asking him if he was feeling alright, he was so pale. Carole had jokingly said that that was how Finn had always been around hospitals.

Finn had excused himself then to wait outside and was just in time to see both Puck and Karofsky heading towards him, their faces grim. He filled them in calmly and some of it bled over, allowing the other jocks to take deep breaths since the incident. They all waited grimly, though, for the others to come outside and when Kurt and his parents came out, they were startled to see the jocks there.

Burt simply nodded and Carole smiled teary-eyed at them, saying how sweet it was that they had come to check up on Kurt. Kurt simply flushed and avoided everyone's eyes. As Burt and Carole turned towards the exit, however, the three boys sort of flanked Kurt and if he could have rolled his eyes, he would have. Still, he did feel a flush of pleasure, a smug little part of him pleased with the fact that both Puck and David had come to check on him.

Outside though, Finn stood with the other jocks while Burt settled Kurt in his truck and Carole went to her car. Finn waved to them, indicating he'd be following in a bit, and turned to the other guys.

"So, what do you think about what Coach Sylvester said," he asked them, a serious expression on his usually open face.

Puck shrugged but Dave almost growled. "I want to fuck them up so bad… you don't even know."

Puck punched him lightly and then assured him, "Yeah, I do know. I can't, though, because of my record…"

Finn nodded. "Yeah, and Kurt would be pissing mad if I let you do anything like that, either of you."

They stared at him, twin expressions of confusion making them look equally ridiculous. Finn shook his head and grinned at them. "Dude, you and Karofsky are like his personal knights in armor or something."

"'Shining armor'," Dave muttered, ducking his head as both boys looked at him askance. "That's the phrase… and yeah, we could be like his bodyguards, yeah?"

He looked back at them steadily, although his face was warm so he knew his color was up. He didn't care. If Kurt needed them, he would be there and he was damn sure Puck would be, too.

Puck narrowed his eyes at him and then looked at Finn, his nod abrupt. "Yeah, those fuckers will be out after this but I know they have friends still."

The three boys nodded seriously and then, with a quiet word, they all separated to their cars, thoughts of Kurt and protection details whirling through their minds. This was the last thing anyone had expected would happen. Sure, McKinley High would never win any prizes for being a haven of tolerance or whatever, but no one could have seen something like this happening.

And to think it had happened to their boy; it just made the blood boil.

…

Kurt kicked away the covers tangled around his legs and tried to glare at his visitors. Really, he had an injury to his eye; why were they covering him up in bed as if he were recovering from some debilitating illness? He was so tired of this – he wanted out now!

"No use pouting at me, white boy. Your dad wants you to rest and I for one don't have the cojones to go up against Burt Hummel."

Mercedes' matter-of-fact and vaguely bored tone made Kurt want to pout even more and cross his arms over his chest. Nothing made him want to behave like a spoiled toddler more than being confined to bed.

"But, 'Cedes," he tried whining in his poor little put-upon voice. "I'm bored!"

Tina, sitting on the rug by his bed, looked up and giggled. "Kurt, you sound like you're five years old right now." She got up onto her knees and leaned against the bed to smile kindly at the disgruntled boy. "Just relax. You only have another day in here."

Mercedes chimed in with, "Uh huh, and then you can strut into school with a sexy eyepatch and rocking your new trench coat. Who's it by, again?"

She knew just how to distract the unhappy fashionista lying in bed like a spoiled little prince. Really, she should call herself 'The Kurt Whisperer', she was that good. She watched as his face lit up and smiled to herself.

"You mean my new Belstaff trench coat?" Kurt grinned at her, his one eye getting this faraway look. "Yes, that will set them back on their heels a bit, won't it?"

Tina's giggle tinkled around the room and then Mercedes joined in, happy that Kurt's snit had been postponed for the moment. Within moments they were all engrossed in the fall lines of their various favorite designers and the afternoon passed unnoticed.

By the time Carole came down to ask if both girls were staying for dinner – no, they both had to get back to their respective homes – Kurt was in a relatively good mood. They both dropped light, affectionate kisses on his soft cheek and promised to come by after school the next day with the latest gossip and to help him with his wardrobe for the following day. Kurt grinned and waved them out, feeling almost his normal self as he watched them trudge up the stairs.

Carole came down and fluffed his pillows – quite unnecessarily in his opinion, but she couldn't seem to help herself – and asked him if he wanted to come upstairs for dinner or eat down there.

Kurt rolled his one eye carefully but he smiled at his step-mom. She really was a lovely person, warm and caring and with just the right amount of patience to handle three very different men.

He smiled at her and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "I think I'll freshen up a bit and then come upstairs. I think I'm going stir crazy down here."

She gave him a quick hug with her arm around his waist which was, he realized, her surreptitious way of checking if he was steady on his feet, and then watched him walk into his _en suite_.

"I made your favorite, sweetie; rosemary chicken with baby potatoes."

She chuckled when Kurt's soft cheer came from the bathroom. She had wanted to do something to cheer him up and had spent her day off – she'd requested it specifically due to his injury – cooking, and actually enjoyed how busy it had kept her. She needed to occupy her mind so she wouldn't dwell on the quite nasty incident that saw her beautiful stepson injured and possibly traumatized.

"Come up when you're ready, sweetie," she called out now as she headed back upstairs and to the kitchen. She'd also baked a caramel pie and she had vanilla bean ice-cream in the freezer. She didn't often get the opportunity to do all that cooking but it made her feel useful in a way she hadn't felt in a long time.

Kurt smiled to himself as he answered her and then looked up at his reflection. Carole had redressed his eye for him that morning and although the doctor had said the damage was extremely minimal, he wanted him to keep the dressing on for a bit, so as not to stress the eye.

"I look like a gay pirate," he muttered to himself and then sighed. He was lucky that the skin had not broken, although the spectacular bruising made everyone gasp when they saw him. The angry purple, green and yellow stood out starkly against his porcelain complexion and he thanked the gods of quality makeup that he could cover it all up when he went back to school.

He headed upstairs, thinking about school, his outfit and the reaction of the other students. Just as he reached the kitchen, the doorbell sounded and he heard Finn lumbering down the stairs to go and answer it. The quiet conversation didn't pique his curiosity so he continued into the kitchen, smiling at the sight of all the food on the table.

"Hey, Carole, you expecting guests? This looks good!"

He reached over to snitch a baby carrot and just barely missed being whapped with a dish towel.

"Stop that, you! And no, not guests, as such. Just one person."

"Huh?" Kurt looked at her quizzically and then stiffened when a quiet voice came from behind him.

"Uhm, that would be me…"

Kurt spun around. He opened his mouth but really had no idea what he was going to say. His eyes slid from a sheepish-looking Puck to an apologetic Finn hovering behind his friend. Behind Kurt, Carole beamed at the boys, unaware of the tension suddenly filling the room.

Kurt bit his bottom lip and then looked down at the floor. He heaved a sigh and then turned back to Carole. "So, where do I sit, since this all looks so special."

She chuckled and nudged him playfully. "It's not all that special; I just wanted to do something nice for you, that's all."

Just then, Burt came in the back door from the garage and he looked around, a little surprised to see everyone standing about.

"What, you all waiting for me? Okay, right, just let me wash up and then we can eat. I'm starved."

He bussed Carole, who flushed and giggled, patted Kurt gently on the shoulder and then nodded at both Finn and Puck as he headed out of the room. Kurt sighed again and took a seat, not looking at either of the other boys.

Finn slid into the seat across from him and Puck sat beside him, unfortunately directly opposite Kurt and they all looked at anywhere but at each other. Carole, oblivious, went around the table, pouring sodas for the boys and juice for her and Burt. By the time she was done with that and had taken off her apron, Burt was back and they all tucked in.

Conversation was desultory and quite normal, mainly Burt talking about the garage, the interesting jobs that had come in and some of his weirder customers. Finn and Puck added occasional anecdotes about classes and football training but didn't touch on the gossip about the incident, for which Kurt was thankful.

All throughout the meal, though, Kurt was intensely aware of Puck watching him on the sly. The dark eyes flicked to Kurt's face and sometimes forgot to move away and every time that happened, Kurt would stare at his food as if he was communing with it. The dinner really was lovely and he complimented Carole on all of it.

Of the adults, Burt was the only one to sense that something was off but he didn't draw attention to it. He simply ate, chatted… and kept an eye on both Puck and Kurt. When Carole finally asked who was ready for dessert, Burt knew that something was in the air and he definitely wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Finn helped his mom clear up, telling Kurt in a surprisingly solicitous way that he shouldn't move, he'd do everything, and when Kurt rolled his good eye, Burt chuckled.

"How was today, son? Any pain? The doctor said you should be good to return to school in a day or so, right?"

Kurt flicked a little look at Puck, who was pretending he wasn't in the room, and then turned to his dad.

"Yeah, today was good – no pain. The girls are coming over after school tomorrow to help me decide on my outfit for the next day."

His dad's eye-roll was affectionate and they both grinned at each other. Kurt knew his dad had accepted him and his extreme love for fashion. He had long passed the stage when he had been jealous of Finn and insecure about his place in his dad's affections. He wore his eye-catching outfit with the confidence of a boy who knew who he was and that he had the love of the most important person in the world to him.

"Okay, son, but please, no corsets, okay?"

Puck barely repressed a snort and kept his head down when he saw Kurt glance sharply over at him. Seriously, Puck thought, Kurt had some huge brass ones to have worn stuff like that to school. Badass did not begin to describe his courage. This was Lima, after all.

Kurt looked back at his dad with a little smile though and shook his head. "No, Dad, corsets are so passé; it's been done to death." He gave a little fake sniff, stuck his nose up in the air and drawled, "It's all about trench coats these days."

He and his dad laughed and the mirth was only cut short when Carole and Finn brought over dishes of warm caramel pie topped with scoops of vanilla bean ice-cream. Kurt clapped his hands, yes, actually clapped his hands and grinned hugely at the treat.

"Wow, Carole, I might have to get injured more often!"

The silence that greeted that ill-thought out comment was deep and Kurt's mouth dropped open. He stuttered as he stared around at four horrified faces.

"Oh, for Gaga's sake! I was kidding!"

Burt exhaled and shook his head at him. "Kurt, son…"

Kurt dropped his head and muttered, "I didn't mean anything, Dad. It just came out that way." He looked up at Carole apologetically and offered her a sweet little smile. "I'm sorry, Carole, my brain short-circuited because of this yummy dessert."

Carole looked as if she were struggling to hold back a smile but it popped out anyway. She slid an arm around his shoulders and hugged him briefly to her chest. Pulling back, she rumpled his hair and let him off the hook. "I understand, sweetie; great food can do that to a man sometimes."

There was a little pause and then everyone chuckled, Burt seconding the comment. He complimented her profusely on the delicious pie, probably hoping she'd do it more often, but at Kurt's suspicious look, he ducked his head to gobble up his portion before anyone suggested it was too rich for his blood.

Puck looked around at the little family and smiled to himself. He used to envy Finn for having such an awesome mom, and then when he'd become a part of the Hummel family, he'd wished he'd had a dad like Burt. Now, the envy was gone, leaving in its place just a deep desire to have something like this for himself one day.

He looked up then and suddenly he and Kurt were staring at each other. Puck felt the warm feeling fade slowly, to be replaced by regret.

No, he didn't really deserve to be a part of something so good, so clean and wholesome. No one who could plan to do what he'd been going to do to Kurt deserved anything good. He ducked his head and looked back down at his empty dish.

Puck finally drew a deep breath and looked up, about to push his chair back and excuse himself to go and hang out with Finn.

Burt looked up at him and pinned him with a look. "Uh, Puckerman, let me have a word with you before you go, huh?"

Once again, Carole was oblivious to the tension in the room and hummed happily to herself as she cleared away the dessert things. As she ferried the dirty dishes to the sink, three teenaged boys stared with varying expressions of apprehension at the man sitting at the head of the table.

.

**TBC**


	8. Chapter Eight

...

"Let's get out of Carole's way," Burt said amiably as he got up, pushed his chair in and went over to his wife. He dropped an appreciative peck on her cheek and smiled at the soft color that flooded it. "Dinner was fantastic, love."

The three boys echoed the sentiment in subdued tones and Carole waved them off happily. "Oh, it was nothing. I just wanted to do something to cheer Kurt up, is all."

Kurt came over and gave her a hug as she stood there with her hands already deep in hot, sudsy water. "It really was delicious, thank you."

He gave her a soft smile and trudged after his dad, who had shepherded Finn and Puck ahead of him. He wondered if he should join them in the family room or just sneak down to his room. His dad had said he wanted to talk to Puck; there was no reason to believe he suspected anything. As to the brawl at school, he was certain that, from Sue's words, all Burt could have deduced was that it was just a general attack on a bunch of 'losers'.

Kurt hovered unseen at the door as his dad indicated a seat on the couch and sat in his own customary armchair. He couldn't see Finn at that angle but he figured the tall teen was lounging somewhere, probably fiddling with the Wii system.

Burt suddenly cleared his throat and both Kurt and Puck jumped, although the latter boy tried to hide it behind a fake-sounding cough. God, he's such a posturer, Kurt thought snidely.

Puck, catching a glimpse of Kurt trying to listen in to the upcoming conversation, felt himself flush. He had no idea what Mr. Hummel wanted to talk about… but he had an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach that it wasn't going to be good.

"So, Puckerman, care to tell me what's going on with you?"

Puck stared at him stupidly and blinked. "Huh?"

Burt eyed him coolly. He had had years to perfect 'the look' and he waited. Someone with a guilty conscience usually started babbling after about ten seconds of the stare. He knew because it often worked on Kurt, especially when he'd gone over his limit on the credit card. Sure enough, Puck sweated for about eight seconds and then broke.

"Uhm, well, uh, there's nothing new, uhm, going on with me… sir?"

Burt looked at the stuttering, not so tough-looking boy before him and decided to take pity on him.

"I mean, why are you and Kurt suddenly ignoring one another… after weeks of the two of you being nearly joined at the hip."

He had to bite on the inside of his cheek to hold back the bark of laughter that threatened to erupt. Puck looked as if he were a second away from expiring right there on the family room couch.

"Breathe, son, I'm not going to shoot you… yet."

"Burt Hummel, what in heaven's name are you doing to that boy?!"

Carole's unusually stern voice suddenly called out from the kitchen and Burt winced. He'd forgotten that the acoustics in the place were so good, he could tell who had opened the refrigerator door even while he was watching his usual reality shows.

"Uh, it's nothing, hon; just, uhm, having a little chat with Puckerman," Burt called out, almost apologetically, but he turned a stern look on Puck, just to let him know that, Carole or no, he was going to get to the bottom of the situation.

Puck swallowed hard and glanced first up at the door where he knew Kurt was still listening and then back at Burt, totally ignoring Finn who was gaping at the two of them like an idiot.

"Sir, uhm, Burt, I - uh - really, really like Kurt, okay?"

Burt nodded slowly but his suspicions rose, contrary to how he should have felt at that admission. Something wasn't right, here, and he had a bad feeling about it. He raised his eyebrows, silently indicating that Puck should continue with his explanation.

Puck looked at his hands, clasped so tightly between his knees that the knuckles gleamed palely beneath the tan skin. He had to man up to Burt about his stupid decision and its consequences, but he didn't want to embarrass Kurt in his father's eyes, either. He had to find a way to word this diplomatically.

"Look, I'm not gay, right, and I, uhm, know I have a kind of rep out there…" he trailed off as he saw the cynical curl to Burt's lips and felt his cheeks heat up. "Okay, I've done some stuff I'm not proud of but… you remember what it was like in high school?"

The silence stretched as he waited for that look on Burt's face to ease up, to at least indicate that the other man even understood what he was getting at. Finally, some of the tension seemed to ease out of the older man and Puck breathed a tiny sigh of relief before continuing.

"Well, uh, a bunch of us were at a stag party – just jocks, of course – and, long story short, I kinda took up a bet."

Burt didn't say anything for a while and Puck wondered if Kurt was still there at the door, and what he was thinking of Puck's explanation.

Burt cleared his throat, looked over at Finn and then back at Puck, and asked, "Were you there, too, Finn? Did you know about this bet?"

Finn's wide, scared eyes stared at Burt even though he wanted to look at Puck to see how much of it all Puck was going to spill.

"I was there, yes," and his body tensed as he finished, "but I didn't know about the bet until… afterwards… at school."

Burt nodded solemnly. "At school; does that mean that the whole school knew about this bet?"

Both Puck and Finn hurried to answer, "No!"

"Not really!"

Burt looked between the two of them and then asked Puck to explain.

Puck had never felt so scared in his life. He didn't think of Burt as a violent man but he paled at the thought of the man being pushed to that point at whatever came out of Puck's mouth next.

"The jocks – some of them, at least – were the ones mainly involved; I don't think the whole school knew."

He felt his throat close up and his eyes sting at the shame of his confession. "It, uhm, involved Kurt."

The look on Burt Hummel's face, Puck didn't think he would ever forget. He struggled to breathe as he watched the face of the man in front of him turn blank and stony.

Puck didn't cringe, though; right now, if Burt Hummel had wanted to go for one of his shotguns and shoot him dead right there, he would not have thought to run. He would have deserved it, wouldn't he?

The horrible thing about it all was that, he actually liked Kurt. Kurt Hummel was something so much better than what Lima had to offer… he couldn't begin to imagine why he'd thought the bet wouldn't have changed everything… changed him.

He hung his head now as Burt stared at him, barely breathing, waiting for the axe to fall and vaguely aware of Finn's tense form beside him. He didn't know when Finn had come to sit beside him but the heat from his best friend's body finally registered.

The words that came then made Puck's head swing up and he stared disbelievingly at the older man before him.

"Have you apologized to Kurt?"

Beside him, Puck felt Finn jerk, just as surprised at the lack of an explosion and bloody retribution. A soft gasp from the doorway had all of them looking around.

Kurt stood there, pale and shaking slightly, one hand covering his mouth as he stared at Puck.

Puck didn't realize he had got up from the couch until he was a few steps away from Kurt.

Kurt looked at him, the one good eye wide and his whole body pale and looking smaller than normal.

They stared at each other and Puck, his throat feeling as if razor wire was wrapped around it, tried to get the words out. Nothing happened and he looked helplessly at Kurt who stared back at him, waiting. And then…

"Kurt," Puck said, his voice cracking at the end of the one syllable. He dropped his head back to stare at the ceiling, blinking rapidly in an effort to stay in control. Then, taking a deep breath he looked at the slender boy again. "Kurt, can you ever forgive me for… what I did?"

A sound from Burt and then Finn almost distracted the two boys from the intense stare they were locked in. Puck's heart hammered in his chest and then sank to his stomach when Kurt's lashes fell and his head lowered.

"I-I don't know…"

Puck's shoulders slumped and he nodded resignedly, biting his lips to keep back the torrent of pleas that suddenly now wanted to rush out. Who was he kidding? Why should Kurt forgive him anyway?

Burt Hummel had no idea what was going on. He knew the bare facts that Puck had just given him: he'd taken a bet that involved Kurt but hadn't gone through with it. Why? And what did that have to do with the brawl at the school? Come to think of it, why was that crazy cheerleading coach so livid about the whole thing? He wanted answers and he wanted them now!

"Look here, Kurt, exactly what is going on?!"

Puck jerked at the angry sound of Burt's voice and it must have startled Kurt, too, because he heard him gasp. Kurt moved past him to come over to his dad and rest a hand pleadingly against his chest.

"Dad, calm down, please. It's over!"

"How can I calm down, Kurt? Tell me: what happened to turn you from that smiling kid who flirted happily with this punk here – and don't think I didn't notice! – into a version of yourself that I don't really recognize! Not to mention a-a school brawl that seemed to be Cheerios versus jocks! What the hell was that about?"

"Burt, please, calm down and let the boys tell you in their own time, please, honey?"

Carole came into the room, wiping her hands on a dish towel and smiling softly at her irate husband. Burt threw his hands up, sighed gustily and threw himself back into the armchair.

"I need a beer for this!"

Finn scurried out and within seconds he was back with the can, popped open and ready for Burt. The older man looked at the kid and then, shaking his head, took the beer with a little smile. "Thanks, Finn."

There was a silent release of breath as the others breathed again. Kurt perched on the arm of his dad's chair, a customary position for him, especially when he wanted to rip the older man's favorite 'reality' shows to shreds. He slid an arm about his dad's shoulders and relaxed slightly.

Puck and Noah took their seats again and Carole, with one last warning look at Burt, went back into the kitchen.

"Okay, so, who's gonna fill me in on this… teenage fiasco?" Burt's sarcastic tone made Puck wince and, after a quick glance at Kurt, he cleared his throat.

"Uhm, well, the guys weren't too happy that I sorta took matters into my own hands. After I decided I wouldn't go through with the bet, I spoke to Coach Sylvester about it." He held up his hands to forestall the question he was certain Burt wanted to ask. "And, no, I can't tell you what we spoke about. Uhm, she called an assembly and tore us all a new one, plus she suspended the guys involved."

Burt's eyes widened. Whatever the bet had involved, it was an actionable offense, at least in the bylaws of the school or state – or both. However, he simply nodded and allowed Puck to continue.

"Yeah, so, ahm, some of us decided that, since some of the jocks had it in for Kurt – you know, all that bullying and stuff – we should be around to protect him, like a secret service bodyguard thing…"

He cringed and trailed off when Burt once again stared at him as if he were either mad or a rabid animal he was dying to shoot. He swallowed hard and spoke faster.

"We couldn't be with him all the time, though, and that's when those hockey jerks got the drop on Kurt and the girls."

Burt took a long slug of the beer and when he'd had enough, he lowered the can and his head to frown at Puck and Finn.

"You trying to tell me this is an anti-gay thing? That it's all because Kurt's gay why they're targeting him?"

Puck and Finn nodded rapidly, Puck avoiding Kurt's accusing stare.

Burt made a huffing sound and then shook his head. He glanced quickly up at Kurt who was being remarkably quiet and then back at the two boys before him.

"So, if this was an anti-gay thing, why were you involved in the bet? Weren't you afraid they'd see you as 'gay', too, if you had to hang out with Kurt for this bet?"

Puck winced and Burt felt Kurt stiffen beside him. Burt was almost afraid to find out the details of this situation. His gut was telling him it was not a pretty story but Kurt was his only son, the apple of his eye, if you wanted to be sentimental about it, and he wouldn't let anyone get away with hurting him.

"Dad, you know I've always been bullied at school, right?" Kurt's soft voice was almost soothing, but for the words that were coming out of his mouth. Burt tensed and looked up at his son. His beautiful boy was now sporting an eye patch and some impressive bruising on the left side of his face. Someone had done that to him, and Burt wanted the bastard to pay. He felt his blood pressure rising but he struggled to keep calm. He nodded.

"Right, so, in a way, this was another form of bullying. Puck, in a moment of stupidity – hey, this is Noah Puckerman we're talking about – decided it wouldn't do his macho rep to back down from a bet. Right, Puck?"

Kurt had probably one of the most feminine voices that a boy could have but there were times when the steel running through it made Puck want to cringe. This was one of those times so he quite smartly nodded, yes.

Burt curled his lip at him, knowing exactly what was going through Puck's head because he had been on the receiving end of Kurt's sharp tongue, too, and waited for Kurt to continue.

"Well, the brawl was just the consequences of said actions on his part. He welched on the bet; he involved a teacher and, because all of that required reprisal in the minds of the other Neanderthals at that black hole of a school, I'm now sporting an eye patch and colors on my face that have nothing to do with my fall wardrobe." He scoffed self-deprecatingly. "Thank god for quality concealer."

That little speech heralded at least another two minutes of silence, the others having nothing to say in response to Kurt's mini-rant. Finally, Burt cleared his throat, wiped the dismay from his face, and stared frowningly at both Puck and Finn.

"So, what do you plan to do about this? What's going to happen now? I think that crazy coach said something about expulsion?"

Finn nodded, eager to contribute something that might lighten that look of impending doom in Burt's eye.

"Yeah! Well, uh, the ones who started the bet, they've been suspended – don't know for how long. The ones that, uh, beat up on Kurt and the girls, they're gonna be expelled. One of them said something really bad to Santana so, on top of waling on girls, he's gonna have that on his record as some kind of hate-crime thing…"

Kurt had heard about that and he'd even spoken with Britt and Santana about it. He shook his head at the level of stupidity in humans. He sincerely hoped that, were there really intelligent aliens out there, they would seriously think about bypassing Planet Earth. Seriously, it wasn't worth the effort.

He sat up now because his butt was going numb, being perched for so long on the arm of the chair, and looked down at his dad with a little smile.

"Are you okay, dad? Please, don't let this send up your blood pressure, okay? It could have been worse and we should just be glad it wasn't."

When his dad looked as if he wanted to contradict him, Kurt looked stern. "No, I mean it, dad! I mean, silver lining, right? At least coach was able to make a stand about bullying and hate crimes. She was so mad about the whole thing – both the bet and the fight – that I don't think the school Board will countermand anything she says. Certainly, Figgins doesn't have the guts to, even if he wanted to."

The other boys nodded and Burt finally released a breath and tried to relax. His son was a strong young man and he was proud of how he had turned out. He felt a surge of affection go through him, tempered a little bit by regret that Kurt had to face this sort of thing. He hugged the boy to him and nodded resignedly.

"Yeah, yeah, I guess you're right." Then his eyes fell on the two jocks looking at them hopefully. "As for you, Puckerman, you're lucky I don't take a shotgun to you right now!"

Puck gulped and paled a shade or two, almost making Kurt want to laugh but he decided to take pity on him.

"It's okay, dad; I think he's learned something from this."

Kurt stared challengingly at Puck and Puck, if it had been possible, would have signed over his firstborn to Kurt, so painfully relieved he was that Kurt didn't hate him. Still, he looked at the diva with the damaged face and realized he had dodged a bullet today, though not a real one, obviously. He straightened up in his seat and looked at Mr. Hummel.

"Sir, I've done some really dumb things in my life, never thinking about the consequences but, believe me when I say, I never set out to hurt anybody… least of all Kurt."

He stared at Burt, willing him to believe every word he'd just said. He waited… and waited.

Burt stared at the punk before him and the thought hit him: _I'm seeing a boy grow up right in front of me._ Finally, he nodded slowly.

"Your stupid actions did hurt him – maybe you didn't throw that punch – but if you can take something meaningful away from this crapfest, you will have learned something. I believe you never meant to hurt my son… but you've got to find a way to make it up to him. Clear?"

Kurt objected immediately. "Dad! Don't I get a say in this?"

Burt frowned up at him. "Kurt, I didn't say you _have_ to forgive him; that's your prerogative. However, for his own sake, he has to own this… as well as the consequences. If he's going to grow from this, he has to give something back."

All the boys looked at him, puzzled, and Burt – in an amusing echo of his son – rolled his eyes, exasperatedly.

"Kurt, you're a smart kid and you can do anything you set that big brain to. Tell me here and now..." He stared at Kurt, his expression softening. "Deep inside, do you want to forgive him?"

.

**TBC**


	9. Chapter Nine

...

Dave Karofsky found himself in a position he had never thought of before – and he was still a little puzzled as to how he'd got here.

He was sitting in Puckerman's bedroom, watching the other jock pace as he muttered to himself.

Dave looked around the room, taking in the racy posters – wow, he hoped Puckerman's mom didn't come in here too often – and then focused on the other boy again.

"Look, I don't know what you want me to tell you, Puckerman." He shrugged his big shoulders and sighed. "I know I have things to sort out with Fancy… but I don't know how to, either."

Puck stopped in his pacing and collapsed onto his bed, staring morosely at the big jock sitting across from him. He didn't know why he'd called Karofsky to come over; Finn was supposed to be coming over, too, but hadn't arrived as yet.

He sighed and scrubbed a hand at the back of his neck. "Look, I know I have to step up, okay. I just have no idea what kind of 'gesture' Kurt would appreciate, y'know, so I can 'atone' or whatever. I don't even know if it's something I should do at school… or what..."

Dave almost felt like grinning at the woebegone expression on the tanned jock's face… but he himself was in no position to be laughing at anyone. He had taken a good look at himself and his own behavior towards Kurt and even the other kids at McKinley. His dad looked at him these days with the saddest eyes, almost like the disappointment he felt towards Dave was ingrained now. Maybe… aw, he didn't know, but maybe if he redeemed things with Kurt, his dad would start to smile at him again.

He looked down at his big hands clasped between his knees, and thought of the damage to Kurt's face. He hadn't been the one to do that but it might well have been. Not so long ago, he might have been the one to push things too far and physically hurt the smaller teen. A breath shuddered out of him at that thought. How anyone could hit Kurt like that he didn't know. He'd always thought Kurt was the prettiest boy he'd ever seen. That's why he'd been so angry, really. According to all that he'd learned growing up, he wasn't supposed to have those kinds of feelings for another boy. Kurt's out and proud way of behaving was like waving a flag in front of a bull.

Puck wasn't stupid; he had an idea exactly what was going through the huge jock's mind right now. He flung himself back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Kurt Hummel was unknowingly responsible for forcing a lot of people to think differently. He kind of felt sorry for Karofsky because Kurt was just a kid like any other who just wanted to get through high school, do the things he liked and just be who he was. But, no, he'd gotten shit from other students even from Middle School days. Puck knew: he had been one of the kids who had thought it funny to pick on the kid that was different. He'd had no idea that, one day, he would find himself attracted to the boy.

"You know, we deserve to get our asses kicked…"

Dave glanced over at the other teen. His eyes roved over the length of Puck's muscular body and felt a funny twinge in his stomach. He was slowly accepting that he just may be gay but until recently, he'd only ever responded to Kurt. Kurt's beautiful blue-green-grey eyes, his pouty pink lips, the long, slender body… all made up a package that had Dave's breath coming short, much to his annoyance.

Now, as he looked at Puck lying there berating himself and probably all homophobic jocks, he realized that maybe it wasn't just Kurt, that he wasn't Kurt-sexual but really gay. He shook his head and sighed gustily.

"Yeah, we're lousy human beings… and I wouldn't be surprised if Kurt hated us."

Puck rose up on his elbows and stared at the other jock. He knew now that Karofsky found Kurt attractive; now he wondered if Kurt could find Karofsky attractive in return. His stomach clenched painfully at the thought. He sat up fully now, though, and nodded in response to Karofsky's words.

"Yeah, but he's one of the most forgiving people we know. So that's why we have to do something really cool for him, you know."

Dave nodded and stared back at the other boy, one winged eyebrow rising as he waited for him to continue. "Any ideas?"

Puck looked away out his window and then nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, actually… I heard about a school that has this no-bullying policy. They're pretty strict."

Dave straightened up, interest flaring in his gold-green eyes. "How'd you hear about it?"

Puck shrugged. "I might have looked up some stuff online. It's actually over in Westerville, called Dalton Academy. I think I'll tell Kurt about it. Maybe he can go check it out, maybe."

Dave felt a twinge in the region of his chest and a bit of nausea but he tried to smile. "Oh, uhm, you want him to leave us -uhm, McKinley?"

Puck narrowed his eyes at Karofsky's slip but let it go. "I figure we would put it to him, see what he thinks. I mean, think about it: if you were Kurt, wouldn't you want to be somewhere where people _didn't_ hate you for being gay?"

Dave felt the words like a blow. 'Hate you for being gay' – that was a dream these days for him. He was so scared of his parents finding out, the other kids at school. He didn't know what he would do if his closest friend, Azimio Adams, turned against him. That would kill him and he thought of how brave Kurt was – had always been – and felt like a pit was opening up before him. He really didn't know how to get out of his life, out of making a decision that would alienate all the people whom he loved most. He wanted to be brave and out – to say 'screw you!' to all the haters – but he was not that strong and he knew it.

So, he straightened up, nodded at Puckerman and smiled thinly. "Okay, yeah, that sounds like a great place." Standing, he rubbed his palms down the front of his jeans and angled his body towards the door. "Hey, I think I'm gonna head out now… no telling if my mom wants me for anything."

Puck got up more slowly, his eyes narrowing on the other jock. "Hey, man, you okay?" When Dave stared at him, he elaborated. "You look a little pale."

Dave tried a smile that turned into more of a grimace. He stopped on his way to the door and, after a little pause, looked at the other teen. "I'll be okay. I just… have some things to think about, is all."

Puck had a funny feeling but he just looked at the other jock for a second or two and then: "Look, if you ever want to talk about anything, call me, okay?" When Dave looked as if he was about to brush him off, he grabbed his forearm before he could reach for the doorknob. "Dude, I mean it, okay! No bullshit… call me if anything, _anything_ goes squirrelly."

Dave felt his throat tighten but he dropped his eyes and nodded. Without another word, he opened the door and Puck could hear his heavy footsteps clomping down the stairs. He heard the murmur of voices as his mom let Dave out and he turned back to sit on his bed with a sigh. _Fuck me, when did my life become a soap opera?_

…

Kurt's first day back at school was surreal, to say the least. The kids in the hallways looked at him with avid curiosity and, strangely, a hint of respect. According to the rumors that Mercedes filled him in on as soon as he stepped into school, Kurt had single-handedly taken on the hockey puckheads to defend Santana's honor.

Kurt had bitten back a loud laugh at that thought but then, it was a nice feeling, having people look at him that way for once. It was much better than them either ignoring him, banging him into lockers or giggling at his fashion-forward outfits. So, now he strutted down the hallway on his way to his first class and basked in the attention.

He had chosen his outfit carefully. Since the bruises were quite virulently purple, green and with a touch of mustard in there, he coordinated his ensemble accordingly. His favorite purple shirt was teamed with a tartan plaid vest that had a subtle purple and green pattern, and he wore a new pair of mustard jeans that hugged his ass and package beautifully. The boots were the final, perfect touch because they were black with thick tractor soles and looked like they could stomp anybody into submission.

He had also covered his bruises with a bit of concealer but they showed through anyway, just not so brightly. His good eye was lined on the bottom with a subtle blue pencil and his top lashes were enhanced with a judicious sweep of mink mascara. There was no need for any color on his lips and high cheekbones; they were holding their own as usual. He had been more than pleased with his appearance that morning when he stepped out of his bedroom and now he was assured that all his efforts were not in vain.

The kids in the hallways parted at his approach and, with Mercedes on one side and Tina on the other, he almost felt as if he ruled the school. He knew it was a feeling that wouldn't last very long but he was determined to enjoy it while it did.

A sound behind him drew his attention and, turning his head just slightly, he saw his jocks behind him. Turning forward again, he let his lips curve into a smug smile. Finn, Puck, Karofsky, Mike, Sam and, surprisingly, Mercedes' boyfriend Shane, were all strutting behind them, giving various and sundry other jocks and students the stink eye. Kurt felt the giggles bubbling up inside him but he suppressed them ruthlessly; after all, queens don't giggle, do they?

That last thought almost did him in but he bit the inside of his cheek ferociously until he could compose himself. When they reached his classroom, he allowed the girls to go ahead of him and then, a bit curious, he turned to his pretend bodyguards.

Finn actually smiled broadly at him, seemingly proud of his bodyguard detail but Kurt only glanced first at Puck and then David. He lifted his chin – damn, he really needed to cut that out – and addressed them quietly.

"Look, guys, not that I don't appreciate what you're trying to do…" and he broke off to glare Finn into submission. "I really do appreciate it – but maybe if it was just two of you at a time?"

Finn relaxed visibly because he thought Kurt had been about to dismiss them entirely. He nodded vigorously but it was Karofsky, surprisingly, who answered.

"Yeah, that's a good idea, Fancy." He glanced around at the other guys, most of whom seemed to agree, too. "We'll work up something and give you a roster, okay?"

Kurt was a little taken aback at how seriously David was taking this and he stuttered out his thanks before his eyes fell on Puck again before looking at Finn. "That's fine. Uhm, thank you, guys; I just don't want people to think I'm under siege here and that I need a six-man security detail to protect me. That's not a good image for the school, right?"

The others nodded and just then Artie rolled up, looking confusedly at all the jocks milling about Kurt and the classroom door. "Yo, this a meeting or something?"

"No, dude," Puck muttered before moving to grasp the handles of Artie's chair. They both had Math first period so, with a nod at Kurt, he moved off. "Just taking care of a little business."

Kurt was certain that Artie still looked a little confused but he turned back to the other guys, thanked them, and went into the classroom just as the bell for first period rang.

The day continued almost in the same vein but whereas earlier he had all those jocks around him, now he had two, three at the most, when he went from class to class. The girls thought it was hilarious and Kurt felt himself blushing way too often for his comfort because, seriously, the jocks at McKinley were not a bad-looking lot.

By lunchtime, though, the earlier euphoria had faded a bit and he was beginning to feel a little hemmed in. It seemed he couldn't make a move without stepping on a jock. Another development was the way Santana glared at anyone who looked even askance at them, especially at Kurt. If he had to hear threats of razors in her hair and going all "Lima Heights Adjacent" one more time, he thought he would scream. And he could scream real loud!

Using the restroom was another drama and Kurt found himself glaring down Santana at one point when she insisted that he use the girls'.

"You do it all the time, Ladyface! Suddenly you can stomach the stench in that cesspool across the hallway?"

Santana's screech drew the attention of the other kids around them and Kurt, feeling as if he were about to spontaneously combust, simply threw up his hands and stomped into the girls' lavatory. He calmed down slightly because it really was a little bit nicer in there, so he did his business quickly, washed his hands, checked over his appearance, and then stomped back out.

"Okay, satisfied?! No boogeymen lurking in the stalls to eat me up, Santana!"

His pout did not impress Santana but she relaxed anyway and with an imperious glance at Puck and Sam who had the after-lunch 'bodyguard shift', dragged Kurt away to their next class. Kurt threw an appealing look back at the boys but Puck only shrugged and Sam grinned, no help at all.

So, it was safe to say that by Glee practice rolled around, Kurt felt a little wrung out. There had been only one incident when some of the hockey puckheads and the Glee jocks had a close encounter in the hallway outside the cafeteria.

Kurt hadn't realized what was transpiring as he had been chatting with his girls about song choices for later. He was stopped by a hand on his arm – Brittany's – and when he looked up he saw Puck and Sam almost nose-to-nose with two guys. The hallway had grown suddenly quiet and Kurt simply rolled his eyes. Just as he was about to push in between the guys – really, this protecting the damsel thing was getting pretty old – a couple more of the football guys surged out of the cafeteria.

Not a word was said as the two sets of jocks glared at each other. Finally it was Karofsky, both a footballer and a hockey player, who called off the stalemate.

"So, what, you looking to get expelled, too?"

Apparently the hockey idiots weren't entirely lacking in brains and they backed off, threw fearsome glares at the other kids, and walked away. The usual hateful slurs were muttered but when Santana lunged at one of them, her face in a vicious snarl, they hurried off.

Kurt was well and truly fed up as they all eventually trooped into the choir room. He flung himself into his usual seat, careful not to disturb his clothing, of course, and heaved a huge sigh.

Mercedes claimed the seat on one side and, surprisingly, Rachel took the other seat. Finn slid into the chair beside her and, on Mercedes' other side, Tina and Mike completed the row. Directly behind Kurt, and making him feel uncomfortable as hell, Puck slouched and kept up a desultory conversation with Sam beside him and Mike in the row in front. When Kurt thought about the seating, he realized that the guys were still doing a subtle protection formation around him. He didn't know whether to feel touched or annoyed.

Apart from that, though, Glee club was probably the most normal part of Kurt's day and he relished the chance to just let loose and be his usual self. That meant giving Rachel a hard time about her usual assumption that all leads were hers by right of her exceptional voice and talent. It was all so normal, even down to Santana biting off Rachel's head, saying it was getting too big for her dwarfish body, that Kurt almost forgot about his issue.

It only popped up again when, after he and Quinn did a duet, she leaned in to hug him and her face brushed against his bad eye accidentally. It didn't hurt as such but he did gasp a little at the pressure. Her eyes were stricken as she grabbed his shoulders to stare at him guiltily.

All eyes were drawn to them as Kurt felt himself flush but he assured her it didn't hurt much anymore. However, the light-hearted mood in the choir room had dissipated by the time Kurt took his seat again and he stared down at his hands while everyone pretended not to look at him. Quinn's eyes were teary and Kurt felt bad about that, too.

By the end of their session, Kurt was well and truly ready to go home and just collapse on his big bed in his cool, dim room. He sighed as he saw a couple of the guys waiting at the doors while he collected his things. However, he looked up in surprise when he felt someone slip into the seat Rachel had just vacated.

"Hey, you okay?"

Kurt couldn't help the little smile that tipped up the corner of his lips and he rolled his eyes before answering.

"Yes, Puck, I'm quite okay, thanks for asking." He closed the buckle of his designer messenger bag and looked at the jock curiously. "What?"

Puck glanced at Finn and Sam still standing at the door and then: "I have an idea."

Kurt felt his curiosity surge and he turned towards the other boy. "Ok-aaay, what idea?"

He wondered why Puck looked as if he'd rather be anywhere but here and his pride felt a little twinge at that but he brushed it aside. Clearly, whatever Puck had come up with, he wasn't certain Kurt would like it.

Puck took a deep breath and glanced at Kurt out of the corner of his eye. "Uhm, I heard about a place… a school. They, uhm, don't allow bullying there."

There was silence as Kurt digested the words. Wait, Puck had 'heard about a place'? "How did you hear about this place?"

Puck glanced over at Finn, almost as if silently asking for help but he glanced back at Kurt before explaining.

"Actually, I sort of looked it up? Yeah, I googled 'no-bullying policy' and the links led to a school right here in Ohio, over in Westerville." He looked pleadingly at Kurt. "It looks like something out of Harry Potter, dude!"

Kurt honestly did not know how he felt, so he did the next best thing; he stalled. Getting up, he slipped the strap of his messenger bag onto his squared shoulder and looked down at Puck coolly. "Okay, email me the link and I'll… check it out."

Puck gaped as he watched Kurt stalk from the room, pushing his way past the other guys without even a glance. Shit, was Kurt angry with him? Shouldn't he have looked for an option, a solution?

Shit! It looked like, in trying to help, to redeem himself, he had only dug himself deeper. Where was a time-turner when you needed one, he groaned to himself, and then resolved to spend less time listening to that dork, Sam. Still, he really wished he could go back in time, kick his own butt and then Nelson's for even coming up with that bet.

He got up wearily and followed the other jocks and Kurt out of the school and towards the parking lot. Watching as Kurt slid into Finn's truck, his body stiff and radiating a tension that looked painful even at a distance, Puck sighed.

_Fuck my life._

.

**TBC**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	10. Chapter Ten

…

Kurt stared around the beautiful campus of Dalton Academy in Westerville, Ohio. It was only about an hour's drive from Lima so now that he'd had his eye patch removed and given a clean bill of health by his doctor, Burt couldn't find a reason not to let him go on his scouting mission.

He had told his dad only that he had heard about a school that had a strict zero tolerance, no-bullying policy and he wanted to check it out. When Puck had told him about it the week before, though, Kurt had had no idea what to feel.

His mind had been an embarrassing soup of mixed emotions. On the one hand, he wondered if Puck had simply wanted to wash his hands of the 'problem' of Kurt. Admittedly, things would probably be a lot less tense in the school if the mouthy, out, gay kid wasn't around. Yet, he knew that Puck was attracted to him. He didn't think the other teen had been faking his reactions to Kurt all that time they'd been 'together'.

On the other hand, though, Kurt was a little touched that Puck had taken the time to research places where Kurt could feel safe. He had no idea what kind of environment he would find at Dalton but he was willing to go and check it out and see if it was somewhere where he would be happy.

Certainly, Kurt was impressed with the looks of the campus. It had those old, ivy-covered walls and extensive well-kept grounds that spoke of money – and lots of it. He smiled as he looked up at the façade for a little bit before taking a deep breath and heading inside.

Whoa! Taking in the gleaming tile floors, the gleaming wooden paneling and gleaming chandeliers – all that gleaming – Kurt felt almost as if he needed to put his Marc Jacobs shades back on!

A huge smile spread across his face as he looked around at the lovely old furnishings and the massive oil paintings on the walls. He twitched as a bell sounded somewhere, clearly indicating the change of classes, and then found himself almost pressed against the gleaming wood paneling nearest him.

A veritable surge of male, blazer-clad humanity erupted from open doorways and down the winding staircase and Kurt's mouth dropped open slightly. Oh, right, Dalton was an all-boys' academy; how could he have forgotten that important tidbit. A dazed smile spread across his face and he clutched his satchel to himself. Wow!

Suddenly, coming from down one hallway where some of the boys were headed, the sound of many voices raised tunefully attracted Kurt's attention. He joined the flow of schoolboys and there, in a large, lovely room, was a choir the likes of which Kurt had never before seen. His eyes and smile widened and he stood, rooted to the spot as the lead singer turned towards him.

They were singing a capella but that was not the most amazing thing. The thing that stunned Kurt and made him stare as if he were in Wonderland was the fact that the other students were all cheering and harmonizing with the singers. Kurt was new to such an experience. McKinley students barely tolerated the efforts of the New Direction kids and here you had a whole school full of apparently American youth, all bopping along to one of the latest songs from the inimitable Miss Katy Perry.

Kurt focused on the lead singer, a short kid with dark, slick hair, huge golden eyes and a stunning velvety voice. The boy was amazing, singing and dancing around and totally being the most wonderful thing Kurt had ever seen.

When the song ended, Kurt was still in a daze but not so much so that he didn't register the gorgeous lead singer talking to him. Kurt knew he must have answered at least intelligibly and soon his hand was being grabbed by the wonderful boy and they were running through the hallways on a whirlwind tour of the school.

Kurt could never say when or how he got home, he was so amazed and delighted and blown away after his experience. It was truly transcendental and when his car turned into his driveway, he sat for a few minutes with the engine off.

That was when reality reasserted itself and slowly the glow from his Dalton experience faded. Kurt, however, was a practical person, almost too mature for a teenager, and now he wondered how his dad would ever be able to afford his tuition at Dalton. So, he collected his things and hopped out of the vehicle, no trace of self-pity on his countenance.

Locking the car absent-mindedly, he let himself into the house and called out a greeting to his dad and Carole before heading down to his room. He flung off his bag and jacket, not even caring that the garment landed haphazardly on his couch, and then eased his boots off before lying back on his bed.

As he laid there, however, a slow smile curved his pink lips and, closing his eyes, he brought up back the memory of his Dalton visit. His chest rose as he breathed deeply and before he knew it, he had dozed off, his lips still smiling.

…

Kurt sat in Coach Sylvester's office and looked her straight in the eye. He was wearing his Cheerio uniform and his body was in that erect stance that Coach liked to see, but his legs were crossed at the knees in his signature Wintour pose. He waited for her to respond to his proposition and carefully didn't show any hint of nerves. It didn't do to let her see any sign of weakness.

Sue narrowed her pale blue eyes at him and almost snarled. "So, let me get this straight, Porcelain: you want McKinley High School to institute a zero tolerance, no-bullying policy?"

Kurt held her eyes and nodded once, firmly. "Yes, I don't think that Dalton Academy in Westerville has anything that we don't have." Kurt crossed his fingers out of Coach's sight, knowing that what he was going to say next was a bit of a gamble. "The members of Dalton's school board might have more money but they don't care more for their students than our Board does, I believe."

He tilted his chin up, his lips firm, almost as if he were challenging Sue to refute that statement. She was forced, really, to agree; to demur would give Kurt ammunition to go to the Board and repeat their conversation. A grudging look of respect came over her face briefly but Kurt didn't fool himself into believing this was anywhere near the end.

Sue stared at the boy before her. She could still see faint traces of the bruising around his left eye and her stomach clenched that one of hers should have suffered such an appalling attack – especially during her watch. She was Vice Principal of this benighted school and if she had to pull in every favor and pull every nasty stunt in her book, she would do it so such a thing never happened again in any school where she had authority.

"You know, Porcelain, I'm always pleased when the intelligentsia, such as it is in this place, fall into line with my own thinking." She smirked as Kurt's blue eyes widened at that. "I have been thinking of bracing the Board myself on just such an important topic. That you should come up with it as well shows there is hope for this generation after all."

The silence that stretched between them didn't make Kurt nervous at all. In fact, he was amused deep down, though no sign of it showed, but he did allow a hint of gratitude to come to the fore. He knew that was what she was looking for; she wanted him to 'kiss her ring', as it were, ever grateful simply to bask in the magnificence of her Machiavellian mind.

So, he smiled with a little bit of awe in it and let his eyes widen as he looked back at her. "That's great, Coach. I knew you were the right person, the one person who would get it!"

Sue nodded graciously, thinking quite sincerely that she had made Porcelain's day. She kept it pretty much a secret but the boy was a favorite of hers and what had happened the other day had truly sickened her. She had come pretty close to putting her hands on a student in violence after she had promised herself never to go there… again. She was a Vice Principal now, she had her position to think of and, also, she had to show she was forward-thinking enough to find a solution to a revolting situation.

Kurt smiled wider and, getting up, he turned back to add one thing. "I have to admit, Coach, I wasn't the one who came up with the idea."

She twitched one eyebrow at him in curiosity. "Oh, there's someone else with half a brain in this school?"

Kurt suppressed a snort but nodded. "Yes. Actually, it was Noah Puckerman who gave me the idea."

He watched as her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She caught herself quickly though and nodded, trying to look as if she hadn't been surprised. "Oh, yes, I had a feeling there was more to that hormone-ridden muscle-bound spawn of a vapid Miss America contestant and an MMA reject. Hmmm, I must keep an eye on him."

Kurt gulped because, truly, he didn't know if that was a good thing or not. So, he did the smart thing and skedaddled after flinging a quick "Bye, Coach!" at the scary woman behind him.

Outside her office he slowed his dash to his typical dignified strut and made it to the choir room where Mercedes was guarding his things. When he entered the room, his and Puck's eyes met and held. He slid his glance from the jock, however, and sat in the seat 'Cedes was holding for him. At her soft query he simply nodded, saying, "Everything's fine; I'll tell you later."

…

Puck watched Kurt during the whole Glee session, unhappily distracted by the way Kurt's eyes kept meeting his and then sliding away. He didn't know if he should just come right out and ask Kurt what was up or give the smaller teen his space. Knowing Kurt, he would probably confront him sooner than later anyway, he consoled himself.

Still, the way that Cheerio uniform hugged the boy's body just reminded Puck of what he'd almost had and then let slip away – because of his stupidity. He bit his full bottom lip as he watched the way those sweet hips moved with Kurt's unconscious swaying walk and only when Finn bumped him kind of hard on the shoulder did he snap out of his daze.

"Dude! What the_?" Puck glared at the over-tall teen, causing the back line of dancers to stumble to a halt. He didn't know what Finn was on about but that really hurt!

Finn, his usually open face twisted in his own glare, whispered harshly: "Stop eye-fucking my brother, dude! Not cool!"

There was a choking sound from behind Puck but he didn't look to see who it was as an automatic denial sprang to his lips. "What? No! I wasn't_!"

"Oh, yes you were, Puckerman!"

Mercedes' voice blasted at him and he cringed before he caught himself and turned around. Half the group was watching them and the other half had eyes only for Kurt who was standing as far away as the room allowed, with his arms wrapped around himself tightly.

"Admit it, Noah," Rachel Berry's light voice chimed in. "You have feelings for Kurt but your recent behavior has probably made any chance of your succeeding with him as remote as you appearing on the cover of Rolling Stones Magazine in the far future."

Puck felt the heat flee from him as his eyes locked with Kurt's but then, in a move that surprised everyone there, Puck more than the others probably, Kurt spoke.

"As much as I appreciate this sudden desire you all have of leaping to my defense, it is getting a little old. Thank you, Rachel, for that entirely unnecessary and patently ridiculous assessment of Noah's future, but I can take care of myself."

His lips tightened as he glared down anything she was about to say in her defense and then his gaze swept the room, landing first on Santana and then on Finn.

"Guys, I know this is a seriously screwed up situation but I'd really appreciate a little space, okay?" His shoulders slumped slightly and this, more than his words, seemed to finally get through to the others. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder and looked up, surprised, to see Mr. Schue beside him.

"Yes, people; I think we can afford to give Kurt a little space now. The situation has changed in the school and it's a little safer – as it should have been all along – but we have to try to return to normal as soon as possible."

When the kids nodded – or shrugged in Santana's case – he clapped his hands together and with his usual forcefully cheery grin, announced that they could leave early. A faint, slightly mocking cheer came from the Latina who simply grabbed her backpack and her girlfriend's hand and stalked out of the choir room.

The other kids wandered off to grab their things as well, leaving behind a tense tableau consisting of Puck, Finn, Mercedes and Kurt.

When the door closed behind Mr. Schue who reminded them not to stay too long, Kurt sighed and looked up at Puck.

"I spoke with Coach Sylvester today." His lips curved at the faintly puzzled silence surrounding the others and then he continued. "I told her about the school you recommended."

Puck felt his stomach drop as he stared at Kurt, his dark eyes wide. "Wha- you_?"

"Kurt? What school is that?" Mercedes grasped Kurt's arm, forcing him to look down at her. "What's going on?"

Finn nodded like a huge bobble-head figure. "Yeah, bro, what school?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow at Puck. "You didn't tell him? ... No?" He turned to Finn. "Noah decided that I'd probably be safe from the homophobic hordes at this school if I attended Dalton Academy, over in Westerville."

Puck ducked his head at the incredulous silence that followed. He shoved his hands into his pockets and waited for the explosion… and waited. Finally looking up, he took in the faintly smug expression on Kurt's face. "What?"

Kurt shrugged and walked over to him, ignoring the way Mercedes and Finn were stood gaping at them.

"I did go over and check it out – met the most gorgeous person in the form of the lead singer for their show choir, the Warblers – but I ultimately decided that place wasn't for me."

Puck finally felt as if he could breathe and he stared wonderingly at the humor in Kurt's beautiful eyes. "So, what about Sylvester? What does she have to do with this?"

Kurt chuckled and then looked over at his other friends. "Well, let's say that I left her feeling that McKinley High's new zero tolerance anti-bullying policy is all her idea."

He waited for it to sink in and then laughed aloud when Finn whooped and Mercedes launched herself at him. He staggered against the force of her enthusiastic hugs and smiled as he looked over at Noah.

The tanned jock had such a look of relief on his face, Kurt was seriously puzzled. He watched him haul his mask of studied indifference onto his handsome face but Kurt had seen the relief. Puck couldn't fool him again. It was obvious to Kurt that the jock hadn't wanted him to actually leave McKinley.

Kurt smiled to himself as he buried his face in Mercedes' hair. As gestures of repentance went, Puck's suggestion to check out a safer option for Kurt went a far way to Kurt's forgiving him.

Finally, Kurt let go of Mercedes who still kept an arm around his waist and he grinned at Puck. "Sorry, Noah, you aren't getting rid of me that easily."

Mercedes' soft gasp and Finn's wide eyes had Puck looking at Kurt with narrowed eyes. He couldn't hold back a faint smirk though when he nodded at Kurt.

"I think you know by now, that was never the reason…" and he watched faint color flow into the pale, smooth cheeks. "So... we good?"

Kurt knew Mercedes and Finn were watching him closely but he had eyes only for Noah. The jock was looking at him with this slightly guarded expression beneath the veneer of amusement and Kurt knew exactly what was going on. He cleared his throat, looked at his brother and best friend and then asked them to give him a moment.

Mercedes was inclined to balk but Finn simply nodded after throwing a warning look to Puck and took Mercedes' arm to lead her outside the choir room. It was clear they weren't going far, though, and Kurt watched them with an annoyed glint before going to close the door.

He turned around and watched Puck fidget now with one of the guitars that the band guys had left behind.

"So," he said, wrapping his arms around his waist as he watched Puck watching him from the corner of his eye. "Do you think this makes up for what you… almost did?"

Puck's eyes flew to the slender teen and he took a step closer before stopping. He dropped his head, rubbing one hand at the back of his neck and then looked up again at Kurt.

Kurt waited patiently, knowing that all this was difficult for the barely-evolved boy before him. Why he had to be attracted to jocks, he didn't know. He could have been happy, falling for someone like that well-gelled boy from Dalton. No, here he was, waiting for the boy that had hurt him the most, to say something… anything!

Suddenly, Puck was in his space, large, warm hands going to Kurt's hips and holding him in place. Kurt stared up, wide-eyed, into Puck's face and gasped at the tormented look in the jock's hazel-grey eyes.

"Kurt," Puck started, swallowing hard before he could continue. "Do you think I set out to hurt you with that stupid bet? I'm so sorry, more sorry than you can imagine. I'm not famous for thinking things through and … after the times we hung out … it was the last thing I'd want to do."

Kurt stared at him, barely taking in the words but feeling the sincerity behind them hammering at his senses. Well, not all his senses; some were busy cataloguing and enjoying the feeling of Noah's big, muscular body against his. Noah's scent had come to mean a lot of conflicting things and, even now, it had the power to make Kurt think only about what he wanted to do… and it didn't involve talking.

Without a hint of a warning, Kurt leaned in and pressed his lips to Noah's, smirking in his mind at the quickly indrawn breath. He leaned back just as Noah was tilting his head forward for more and smiled softly when the jock opened his eyes. At the sight of the pout already forming, Kurt had to chuckle.

Puck's hands slid from Kurt's hips and he stood there, unsure, as Kurt turned and headed for the door, grabbing his messenger bag as he went. Kurt called over his shoulder, "See you tomorrow, Noah!" and left the other boy staring after him.

Puck blinked several times before realizing he was stood in the middle of the empty choir room, staring at the door through which Kurt had left. He scrubbed a hand down the back of his head as he tried to figure Kurt out.

Shaking his head, he grabbed his things and left the room, wondering if Finn had left without him. As he headed towards the parking lot, his mind on that swift kiss, he realized a lone figure was leaning against the balustrade of the front steps.

"Hey," he said quietly, pulling up beside the other boy. "'Sup?"

Dave looked at him and then gazed out at the empty parking lot. His big shoulders shrugged and then he looked at Puck again, his hazel eyes dim.

"Saw Kurt just now… and he looked happy."

Puck nodded as he looked at the other boy, puzzled as to why he should look so serious about Kurt's upbeat mood.

"Yeah, so?"

Dave huffed a sigh and then asked straight out, "So, he's really going to go to that preppy school you told him about?"

Puck's eyes widened as he caught on. He grinned widely and slapped the bigger kid on his meaty shoulder.

"No, dude! Kurt was all pleased with himself because he's _not_ going!"

Dave looked so confused that Puck couldn't drag it out any longer and he explained. "It seemed he pulled a mind whammy on Sylvester and made her believe that the Dalton zero tolerance policy about bullying would work here, dude... and that it was her idea!"

There was a pause and then both boys laughed out loud, Dave shaking his head in admiration of Kurt's ninja-like skills. He murmured something as their laughter died down and Puck looked at him.

"What's that?"

Dave sighed, his eyes gleaming as he got up off of the concrete balustrade, and he looked back at Puck with a smile.

"I said, 'Beautiful and smart'." He shrugged the strap of his backpack onto one shoulder and nodded his leave at Puck, sauntering down the steps.

Puck gazed after him, unhappily aware again that the other boy was crushing on his boy, too.

With a last shake of his head, Puck turned towards his truck, his mind on Dave's words.

**TBC**


	11. Chapter Eleven

…

Kurt watched the boys across the room, one corner of his full lips quirking up. Mercedes, who was sitting beside him, nudged him with her shoulder and he turned to smile at her.

"I think it's time I moved on," he murmured beneath the hubbub of sound coming from all around them. They were in the school's cafeteria, finishing up their dubiously nutritious lunches – at least he tried to improve things by bringing his own salad – and he wrapped up his container and shoved it into his satchel.

Today he was in a very good mood and the whole morning he'd had this sparkle to him that had tweaked Mercedes' curiosity. Now she leaned into him with a quizzical look on her face.

"'Moved on' – you mean about forgiving Puck?"

"Uh huh," he said, glancing at her as a dimple appeared in one cheek. "I have already, but he doesn't know that. I've been enjoying seeing him, the bad-ass, sex-shark of Lima, so humble these past few days."

'Cedes giggled and slapped him lightly on his arm – his rather nicely muscled arm, she realized as she let her hand linger.

Kurt narrowed his eyes at her playfully, realizing what she was doing. "What - I'm not exactly the limp noodle I used to be, you know!"

They giggled at each other and she shook her head admiringly. "No wonder you have those two panting after you."

Kurt grinned and then paused. "'Those two?' What 'two'?"

She rolled her eyes. "Please, don't tell me you haven't noticed the way Karofsky can't keep his eyes off of you. That's not just remorse in those pretty hazel eyes of his, you know!"

Kurt's pink lips rounded in an 'o' and then his eyes widened. He had completely forgotten what Finn had told him! He looked at his friend now and smiled slightly when her gaze grew accusing.

"What? Don't tell me you knew all this time and didn't say anything, Kurt Hummel!"

"Shhh! What's wrong with you," Kurt whispered harshly, looking up to see if the other Gleeks were listening. "With everything, I simply forgot, okay."

Mercedes huffed but then she calmed enough to ask, "So what, did he come up to you and say it, what?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and continued gathering up the remains of their lunch things. "No, in fact it was Finn who told me. You know that boy can't keep a secret to save his life."

They chuckled and then got up with the rest of the kids when the bell rang and headed out of the cafeteria. As they drew abreast of the jocks' table, Kurt's eyes slid to Puck who had been staring at Kurt for quite some time. As a matter of fact, Kurt couldn't figure out why Puck had been sitting with the jocks and not with the other gleeks. He shrugged though and let his eyes slide to where Karofsky was pretending he hadn't just been staring at the way Kurt's hips moved.

Mercedes, silently taking in everything as she walked beside Kurt, made a little huffing noise that sounded like "boys!" and grabbed Kurt's arm to walk faster.

"Come on, your fan club can see you later!"

She giggled as Kurt's cheeks colored but they got out of the lunch room more quickly after that.

In the girls' restroom, Kurt allowed the chatter to flow around him as he made sure his hair was still perfect, and then renewed his lip gloss after cleaning his teeth. As he returned his cosmetic case to his satchel, Brittany called out to him.

"Kurtsie, who are you going to choose? I told Sanny that you'd go for_"

"Britt! Britt, baby, what did I say about that?"

Santana's voice was an odd mix of softness with an underlying hint of steel that had everyone staring between her and her girlfriend.

Kurt's eyes had widened as he turned to stare at the ditzy blonde cheerleader and then Tina, of all people, chipped in.

"But, Santana, we've all been talking about it and I don't like talking about Kurt behind his back."

"What?!" That was Mercedes, ever ready to wade into battle for her boo. "What do you mean, talking behind his back?!"

Kurt laid a restraining hand on her arm and said softly, "It's okay, 'Cedes, we know what the gossip mill is like in this school." He sighed and looked at the other gleeks. "Britt, honey, when I make up my mind, I'll let you know, okay?"

There was a murmur at his pronouncement but Kurt ignored it to pull a glaring Mercedes from the restroom. They were going to be late for their next class if they kept this up and Kurt was not inclined to get a tardy over this foolishness.

Ugh, kids in this school didn't have much to occupy themselves hence the reason for the high popularity of Jacob ben Israel's blog. Kurt shook his head now as he strutted through the halls but he flinched when a small but strong hand grabbed his forearm, pulling him to a halt.

Rachel, of course.

Kurt raised one imperious eyebrow at the little busybody as if to say, "well?"

She took a deep breath and Kurt braced himself. "Kurt, I thought you handled that back there with your usual tact and I for one am pleased that you're not giving into the need of the hoi polloi to always know what their betters are doing."

Kurt and Mercedes stared at her incredulously and Kurt thought that somewhere in that torrent was a compliment but he simply nodded for her to get to the point.

Rachel's big brown eyes beamed at him and she leaned in conspiratorially. "I just want to say that, from my past experience, it would behoove you to date both of them for now. You don't want to tie yourself down at such a young age, do you?"

The silence lasted until suddenly:

"Berry! Do you want me to go all Lima Height's Adjacent on your pathetic, stunted form?!"

The three of them leaped nearly a foot off the floor and Kurt's hand went to his throat as he looked up to see that the rest of the girl gleeks had drawn closer to where they were standing.

"Santana, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Kurt glared at all of them except Mercedes. "I know it's a slow day, but will you all please just stop with this… this… ugh!"

Mercedes' lips quirked in displeasure. "I call it harassment, boo, and yes, you should all just take a chill pill and let my boy decide which of those hunks he's going to get busy with."

"Mercedes!"

…

Finn, Puck, Dave, Shane, Mike, Sam, Azimio and Artie were all on their way to the locker rooms to change, mindful of Coach Bieste's admonition that anyone late to training would have to do some serious wind sprints. With that in mind, the jocks were barreling through the halls, the other kids automatically moving out of the way, when they heard Kurt's distinct voice coming from one of the adjacent hallways.

As one they turned in that direction, coming up behind the group just as Mercedes burst out laughing. Some of the girls saw the jocks but no one said anything to Kurt, too busy enjoying watching the usually frosty countertenor get all flushed and flustered.

"Boy, you know you want some of that hotness," the dark-skinned diva told him now, but she looked at Tina and the others with a little scowl between her eyebrows. "Still, it's up to my boo to make his choice in peace, okay, people?"

"What choice?"

The sound of Finn's voice coming suddenly from behind Kurt made him jump and spin around, his eyes widening at the sight of the other jocks there as well.

Feminine laughter sounded behind him as his eyes automatically went first to Puck and then David, more color flooding his cheeks as the boys stared at him.

"Uh, uhm, I, ah," he stuttered, damning his stutter for turning up then.

"Oh, wow, I think we broke him, Weezy."

Santana's snarky comment had them cracking up again but Finn simply looked at them all as if they were crazy.

"Uhm, guys," he addressed his fellow jocks. "I think we should get going or Bieste is going to have us running 'til dinner time."

There were murmurs of agreement from most of the jocks but as they turned to leave, two pairs of eyes – one dark, one light – lingered on Kurt and he shook his head before dropping it. Of course, the girls noticed and he steeled himself as soft laughter flowed around him.

Mercedes glared at the other girls and slid her arm around Kurt's waist just as the final bell rang and they all scarpered, not wanting to be late.

As they walked though, she looked up at Kurt, a mischievous gleam in her eye as he stared at her suspiciously. "Actually…"

Kurt raised an arm and glared warningly at her. "Don't say it! The day I take advice from Rachel Berry is the day I… the day I… shave my freaking head!"

He stomped off to the sound of Mercedes' rich chuckles following him all the way into his AP French class.

…

That night, Kurt stared at his cell phone that was lying on the bed beside him. If the poor phone had had feelings, it would have been wondering what it had done to be glared at so fiercely.

Kurt sighed and flung himself over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling and – cliché of all clichés – Puck's face from earlier that day swam before his eyes. He huffed and stared at the phone again and then decided to make the call.

He waited as the other phone rang and braced himself for the sound of the other boy's voice.

"Hey…"

"Uhm, hey; I, uh, wondered if you wanted to come hang out?"

There was a pause and then, "What, with you and your boy or … just with you?"

Kurt rolled his eyes but smiled, sure that it would be picked up on the other end. "What if I said my 'boys'?"

Another pause and "'Boys', huh? Okay, yeah, it doesn't matter, since you'll be there anyway."

Kurt felt a little twinge somewhere in the region of his chest but it could have been the chili from earlier.

"Yeah? Okay, well, see you in twenty?"

"Yeah, twenty… or before."

Kurt chuckled and then ended the call, throwing himself back on the bed and then grinning up at the ceiling like a loon. He laid there for a bit and then jumped up, wondering what he should change into. Currently he was in a bathrobe, having just had his evening shower but he couldn't hang out like that, of course.

Bouncing over to his walk-in closet, he realized he hadn't felt this light-hearted in a good while. With the roller-coaster his emotions had been on recently, he was ready to just kick back and just have fun, be a regular – gay – 18-year-old boy with twice the prospects he'd thought he had.

He slipped into a pair of dark grey leggings that had a slight sheen to it and then thought briefly on what top to team it with. The leggings were pretty close-fitting, although not as tight as his skinny jeans, but he felt his top should be something loose and simple. If in the back of his mind he knew he wanted to get a certain reaction, he didn't acknowledge it. Now he reached for an oversized, much-washed tee-shirt with a band logo on it and slipped it on without putting on his usual white undershirt first.

As he looked at himself in the full-length mirror, he found himself smiling. His hair was tousled from having just washed it but forgoing the use of product. He looked a little different from his school persona but he kinda liked it. It made him look, along with the more casual clothes, somewhat more approachable. More touchable, you mean, that bitchy voice in his head whispered.

Aww shut up! He smirked as he realized he was basically arguing with himself but he felt good, better than he had in a while. He danced over to his dressing table and leaned over to daub a smear of lip balm on his full lips, smiling and checking that his teeth were okay. They were never going to look even and perfect like those in toothpaste commercials but at least they were white.

Finally deeming himself ready, he pushed his feet into comfy leather slip-ons and skipped up the stairs to the kitchen. He grinned hugely when he saw his dad already there and went over to hug him.

"I thought you were going to be late at the garage," he said as he let the man go, moving to open the fridge door and bending to see what was in there for snacks.

Burt eyed his simply clad little butt and shook his head. He hated the thought that Kurt was old enough to date but he had to try and get his head around it. He cleared his throat and when Kurt looked up, taking some things from the fridge, he shrugged.

"Yeah, well, Finn said he was having some of those jocks over and I thought it was a good idea to get here early," he said gruffly, not looking directly at Kurt.

"Oh," Kurt said, his voice a little lower and sounding a lot suspicious. He bumped the fridge door closed with his hip and laid the things down on the table. "Why, don't you trust the jocks, dad? I mean, you were a jock, too, right? In the old days?"

"Hey!" Burt finally looked directly at him, a pout in his tone if not on his face. "Careful with that 'in the old days' stuff, you!"

Kurt laughed at him, beginning to set out some dips, baby carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, arranging everything on one of those fancy platter things that Burt couldn't always remember what they were for. Watching Kurt now sorting out the colorful array of vegetables, he rolled his eyes. If his son thought those boys in there were going to eat veggies while playing those infernal video games, he had another thing coming.

Kurt smirked at his dad, taking up one of the little carrots, dipping it into the dip – hummus, Burt saw the name on the container – and biting off the tip. Crunching the veg loudly, Kurt moved out of the kitchen to get the door when the bell sounded. As he left he waved to the tray and then at his dad.

"Feel free to help yourself, dad; it's all healthy!"

Burt rolled his eyes and stared balefully at the innocent platter, no doubt craving his customary beef jerky. He listened as he heard voices at the door and then he got up to go see who else had turned up. He stopped in his tracks as he took in the two boys standing in the front hallway, the door still open.

Kurt was looking up at David Karofsky and Burt's mind blanked for a second. He shook his head and looked closer at the two boys, taking in what he was really seeing. For a bit there, the scene had reminded him of one of those nature-loving documentary people trying to calm some large animal, not that the Karofsky kid looked particularly dangerous. It was just their body language, Burt realized. Clearly, Kurt was trying to convince the other boy of something and when Kurt put his hand out to take the other boy's, Burt realized David was unsure, probably nervous, about being there.

Their voices wafted to him and Burt almost had to strain to hear them, they were speaking so quietly.

"I'm glad you decided to come… I know Finn had told you about it."

Burt saw the other boy's head dip. "Yeah, but, you know, uhm…"

He heard Kurt's impatient huff and saw him begin to drag the larger boy towards the family room from which sounds of video death were emanating.

"Oh, get in here and stop being a big baby!"

Burt shook his head and followed them, walking into the family room in time to see the way the other boys looked up when Kurt and David entered. The elder Hummel bit back a grin at the look on one particular jock's face. It seems not everyone was happy to have Karofsky show up!

"Guys, David decided to come over after all!"

Burt could swear that Kurt's outwardly cheerful voice held a tone of 'and you'd all better play nice!' under it. Finally coming forward, he clapped David on the shoulder and greeted all of them.

"Hey, kids, y'all having a good time?"

There was a wall of sound as everybody answered at once and Burt realized that maybe half of the football team was probably present in his house. Scattered around on various surfaces were bags of chips of all variety, liter bottles of soda and those plastic cups that he thought someone had done a song about.

Finn spoke up, apparently the host of this 'jock's night' taking place in their home. "Hey, Burt, thanks for letting us hang out," and he was echoed by a number of the guys.

Burt watched Kurt beaming at him and he shrugged. "Yeah, well, just don't trash the place, okay? I'm going upstairs for a bit but if you guys are going to be around at dinner time, I'm ordering pizza."

A collective cheer went up and Burt patted Kurt on the shoulder as he left them to it. He was sure that Kurt could handle any raucousness that came up, if that earlier tone of voice was any indication. He chuckled to himself because never would he have thought that, as a single dad of a gay kid, he'd be having a bunch of jocks over at his house regularly.

At least a bunch of jocks who weren't perving on his son, a stray thought added. Hmmm, at least the two who seemed interested weren't all that bad, he responded, and chuckled as he headed into his bedroom, closing the door to the renewed sound of yelling boys and virtual mayhem.

…

Kurt watched his dad leave and when his footsteps made it to the first landing, he turned gleaming eyes onto David.

"What do you want to drink, David?"

He smiled as the jock seemed torn between what was going on on the large TV screen and responding to Kurt, a boy he apparently liked way more than he should.

"Uhm, I, a soda, please?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and then whacked the big lummox on the arm. "I know soda – I mean what kind?"

David gulped and looked down into the laughing face, his eyes riveted on the curve of Kurt's lips.

"Don't bother, I know what he likes to drink," a voice startled them and Kurt looked around to smile at Puck who was passing him and heading into the kitchen. "Coke, right?"

Dave felt his cheeks warm but he nodded his thanks to the other jock. "Uhm, yeah, thanks."

Kurt shook his head at the nervous jock and then pushed him gently to go find a seat amongst the other jocks. He watched as David plopped himself down between Mike and Sam who, while riveted to the action on the screen, were also involved in a huge debate about comics, of all things.

Kurt grinned and then headed back into the kitchen, wondering if he should offer the other boys the veggie platter he had set up. Smiling to himself, he stepped into the kitchen, stopping as he watched Puck's muscular back as he pulled the cans of soda from the six-pack.

At the sound of the door swinging shut, Puck glanced over his shoulder, turning quickly when he saw it was Kurt.

Kurt stopped a few steps into the room and looked at Puck, taking in the way the loose jeans hung on his hips and the bulging biceps that were shown to perfection because he was wearing a black tank. He let his eyes roam over the beautiful body before him and some of his admiration must have shown through because when he looked up, Puck's cheeks were red.

"You know, that is so not fair…" he muttered, gripping the cans of soda hard.

Kurt's eyes widened and he looked at the tanned jock, puzzled.

Puck shook his head and looked down at the two cans of soda. "You can't… look at me like that and not… choose."

Kurt's lips parted but no words came out. He finally nodded, pursing his lips together and then moved towards the other boy. He stopped just about a foot away and looked at Puck earnestly.

"I-I know and… I don't mean to be… I just_"

Puck cut him off with a soft, "I know; you need time, right?"

Kurt looked at him apologetically, his pink lips twisting slightly before he bit the lower one. "Yeah, I… think I've forgiven you… but," he sighed. "I like you, Noah, but I want to find out if I can like other people, too, y'know?"

Puck's head lowered but he nodded.

Kurt continued. "I don't know if I feel like this because you were the first to… touch me like that… or if we have something special, after all. Do you understand?"

Puck raised dark eyes to the slender boy but he straightened and pulled his mask back on. He smiled, however, as he assured the boy he liked too much for his peace of mind, "I understand." And then he left the kitchen, his swagger back in full force.

Kurt wrapped his arms around himself as he watched Puck leave and worried his bottom lip again, wondering if he were doing the right thing. Gaga help him, maybe busybody Berry did have a point.

.

**TBC**


	12. Chapter Twelve

…

"Hey, Kurt, can I talk to you?"

Kurt looked up at his stepbrother who was hovering at the foot of the stairs, looking towards Kurt with a hopeful expression on his open face. Kurt toyed with the idea of yanking his chain and asking if he didn't talk to him all the time. Taking in the serious cast to the brown eyes, though, he thought better of it.

"Yeah, Finn, what's up?"

He had been reclining on his bed while thumbing through his favorite magazines, just relaxing before heading out to the mall with Mercedes. They hadn't had a little retail therapy in a while and he was dying to check out the new line of facials that Clarins was touting.

Finn shuffled over to Kurt a little reluctantly, considering it was he who had asked to talk.

Kurt eyed him curiously and watched as the giant teen lowered himself to sit on the rug by Kurt's bed. He was so tall that even sitting like that, his head was almost on a level with Kurt in his semi-reclining position.

"Uhm, so, uh, I was wondering…" Finn trailed off as faint color washed his lightly freckled face. He was rubbing the fingers of one hand along the pattern of Kurt's counterpane, probably without even realizing it. Kurt waited him out patiently. You couldn't rush Finn or what you got would be incomprehensible. Finn cleared his throat and started again.

"So, uh, what's going on with you and Puck?"

Kurt blew out a little breath, inadvertently blowing up the couple of strands of hair that had fallen onto his forehead. He was a little disheveled as this was Saturday and he was at home so Finn was used to seeing him like this; the others, not so much.

Sitting up now and folding his long legs, he leaned forward slightly to Finn, staring into the wide brown eyes.

"Why do you care, Finn? Or did Puck set you up to ask?"

Finn's eyes widened even more and Kurt briefly thought he looked like an anime figure, they were so big.

"No, God, no! I just, uhm," and then his voice lowered so much that Kurt had to strain to hear: "I just hate to see him so down, y'know."

Kurt's stomach clenched at that but he pursed his lips and stared hardly at his brother. The silence stretched while Finn stared down at his moving finger, the color mostly receding from his face but lingering in his cheeks. Kurt realized it must be embarrassing for him to come and ask such a question but it was understandable. Puck had been his best friend since they were toddlers; it was to be expected.

Sighing a bit, Kurt pushed a hand through his hair, incidentally reminding himself that he needed to start getting ready if he were to meet 'Cedes on time.

"Okay, Finn, listen to me. You can tell Puck this if you want, I don't care." He looked seriously at the other boy who was staring back with a hopeful look on his puppy-like face.

Kurt paused and then continued. "I told him I needed time, okay? As to how much, I really don't know."

Finn nodded reluctantly and then: "So, you're not interested in Karofsky?"

Kurt's eyes widened and then he smiled at the other boy. "Finn, sweetie, to be honest, David is part of the reason that I want time to think about things, okay?"

Finn frowned and Kurt could just imagine what was going through his head. In Finn's simple world view, if his gay stepbrother had to date, then he should date his best friend who seemed to be… bi, at least. Kurt suppressed a grin and watched as Finn assimilated his words.

He swung his feet over the side of the bed and slid off of it, moving briskly past the other teen towards his _en suite_.

"I'm going to get ready to meet up with 'Cedes," he said, then turned around with a mischievous look on his face. "Wanna come with? I could pick out some stuff for you that I know Rachel would love..."

Finn stumbled to his feet, a slightly panicked look on his face that he tried to cover up with his goofy grin. "Uh, um, no! Uh, thanks though, but it's okay, my mom got me some stuff from Target."

He shuffled his feet as Kurt grinned at him and then laughed openly. He turned back to head into his bathroom and waved Finn off. If he knew Carole, she probably bought him some cheap polo shirts rather than anything button-down.

"Okay, I'll let you off the hook this time. Go talk to Puck now," and his giggles followed the sound of Finns galumphing footsteps all the way up the stairs.

Finn would die before going clothes shopping but Kurt swore to himself that he would manage it one day. There was no way anyone in his family should look like they got their clothes from a bargain basement.

…

"What do you think of this, boo?"

Mercedes' voice interrupted Kurt's critical perusal of a display of fairly nice-looking scarves and he turned to her. She was holding up a knock-off Chanel purse with a long gold and black chain link strap. It was rather nice, but he thought it was a little too small for her so he sauntered over to pick up another one, holding it against her with a measuring look.

"It's nice but what about this one?"

They'd already finished their shopping for the must-have facial care items and had been on their way to eat in the food court when Mercedes had decided she needed another pocketbook. Now she looked admiringly at the purse Kurt was showing her and nodded eagerly.

"Wow, how come I didn't notice that one?!" Her hands grabbed for the purse and she moved off to look at it against her in a nearby mirror.

As Kurt smiled indulgently, he glanced up just in time to see a familiar figure walking past the store's large plate glass window. He stared through the window display as his breath caught in his throat and then he turned to Mercedes.

"Hey, sweetie, pay for that and let's go, huh? I do believe I've lost ten pounds since we started shopping and I'm starving."

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and headed to the cash register where a fuchsia-haired teen grinned brightly at her.

As they took care of business, Kurt went to the door of the boutique and peered out in the direction where he'd seen the other boy heading. Yes, the food court! He smirked to himself and turned back to see Mercedes just accepting her package from the cashier.

"So," she said as she joined him. "Do you know what you want yet? I could murder a Big Mac, fries and a strawberry shake to start!"

Kurt, who had been craning his neck to see where his quarry had gone, spun around to look at her.

"Are you insane, girl? That's like-like… digging your grave with your teeth!"

Mercedes stared at him, taken aback, before bursting out laughing. Her rich chuckles calmed him immediately, telling him that she hadn't been offended by his poorly-considered words.

She finally wound down, turning to continue towards the food court. "No, boo, I meant I felt like I could but it doesn't mean I was going to. I know how bad all that fat and stuff is!"

Kurt felt a little silly for over-reacting but he remembered a time when she really would have eaten all of that in one sitting. Still, he smiled gently at her, nudged her shoulder with his and continued towards his goal.

Mercedes watched him from the corner of her eyes, wondering why he was looking so twitchy, and then promptly forgot about it when the smells from the food court reached her.

"Oh, boo, let's do Sbarro!"

Kurt nodded, not minding at all. They headed over to the Italian eatery and made their selections, deciding to have pizza slices and share a large salad as well. They paid and collected their food, Kurt's eyes still wandering the place, and then found a not too messy table. As they set their food down and just before he seated himself, Kurt felt eyes on him and he looked up.

He leaned down to whisper something to Mercedes who looked at him quizzically, and then hurried off. She turned to watch him and then a sly smile tugged at her full lips.

Kurt kept his pace even and his chin up as he moved three tables away from where Mercedes was waiting and stopped.

"Hello, David, shopping today or just hanging out?"

Dave looked up at the always elegant boy before him and felt his face heat up. He looked down at his lunch and then back up at Kurt before answering.

"A little of both; my dad's here but he's browsing everything electronic, can you believe it?"

His soft smile invited Kurt to return it and Kurt did, his dimple appearing as he nodded.

"Yeah, well, 'Cedes and I were indulging in a little retail therapy…" he trailed off as Dave looked over to where Mercedes smiled and waved to him. "Wanna come sit with us?"

He almost laughed out loud at the panicked look on the big jock's face. Suddenly, he sobered, wondering if this was too much and if he could be accused of being a tease or something. He opened his mouth to give Dave an out when the other boy looked back at him and nodded.

"Okay, I'd like that, thanks."

Kurt waited for him to take up his lunch and then turned on his heel, taking a deep breath as he rejoined Mercedes.

The three McKinley students enjoyed their lunches, chatting and laughing, gossiping, even, and Kurt congratulated himself on his mission to get Dave to relax around him. So relaxed was the big jock that at one point he nudged Kurt's shoulder with his after a joke, and Kurt didn't even remark on it. The only time Kurt skewered him with his usual haughty look was when Dave slipped up and called him 'dude'.

Mercedes' laughter was raucous at the way Dave quailed before Kurt's brief glare but when Kurt's dimple re-appeared, Dave relaxed, realizing that he was being teased.

Kurt suppressed his grin as he looked at Dave closely, maybe for the first time, really taking in the boy's appearance. Kurt had to admit he was a handsome boy and those eyebrows were to die for. Hmm, why had he never noticed that before, he wondered as he enjoyed his salad.

Dave ducked his head, aware of Kurt's occasional perusal as they ate and he tried to put it out of mind as he asked Mercedes about her church, as he and his parents attended a different one. Kurt snorted delicately and they ignored him, both familiar with his famous declaration that he didn't believe in God.

The afternoon sped by and eventually Dave left them to go and round up his dad, saying the man was likely to forget to eat if Dave wasn't there to remind him. Waving goodbye to the gleeks, he left them with a smile and Kurt stood and watched him disappear into the depths of the mall.

As they walked towards Kurt's car, Mercedes squinted at him from behind her huge shades. Finally Kurt gave her a "what?" look and she shrugged as she stashed her treasures on the back seat.

Shrugging she said casually, "Oh, it's just really nice to see you so relaxed around Karofsky, is all."

Kurt froze and looked up from where he was stowing his own purchases, a tiny line between his elegant eyebrows. "His name is 'Dave', 'Cedes."

She smirked at him as she slid into the passenger seat, buckling herself in and smoothing her hair in a smug manner.

"I know that, white boy. C'mon, get in and let's go." She grinned as she ignored his glare but she continued. "He's really not that thug he was making himself out to be, is he?"

Kurt sighed and inwardly acknowledged that she'd got him there. "Yeah, I think all that's happened so far has kinda shaken him up. He's cool in his own way."

She slid a sly gaze over to him. "Kinda like Puck, huh?"

Kurt stared resolutely ahead, trying to ignore the smug tone in her voice but he shrugged one shoulder. "I guess you could say that." He sighed and then threw her a glance. "Yeah, okay, Puck's a bit of a douche sometimes but… I think he's making an effort now."

She smiled softly as she nodded and they drove the rest of the way listening to the music from his iPod. When he dropped her off at home and helped her with her bags, he hugged her tightly. As they stepped back she beamed a huge smile at him and suddenly a memory returned to him.

"Huh."

Mercedes looked at her friend who stood there staring absentmindedly over her shoulder and she knew he'd gone somewhere in his head.

"What is it, boo? You just remembered something?"

He looked slowly back at her and one of the biggest grins he was capable of took up his whole face. He grabbed her and hugged her tightly, making her squeak in surprise, and then he was dashing back to his car, feeling for his phone as he went.

"I'll call you later; I've got an idea!"

Mercedes stood there as she watched the big, shiny vehicle back sharply out of her driveway, straighten up and dash off, her mouth still slightly open. She shook her head as she went inside.

"Huh, white people!"

…

Kurt grinned maniacally to himself as he drove, glancing every now and again at his phone on the passenger seat. A fantastic idea had occurred to him and as soon as he got back home, he was going to make that call, even before he got into the house.

Humming happily, he congratulated himself on even coming up with the plan that was still forming and growing in his head. Oh yes, it has got to work, he crowed silently, please, Gaga!

When he finally pulled into his driveway he grabbed his phone, rummaged through his contacts until he found the number he had only used the one time. He drummed his fingers on his steering wheel as he waited for the other person to pick up. As the phone rang and rang he eventually crossed his fingers. Finally he heard the apparently always happy voice answer and…

"Hi, it's me, Kurt Hummel. D'you remember me?"

.

**TBC**


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**A/N: Thanks for sticking with me, faithful readers. One more chapter to go!**

…

Mercedes came-glared at her boy. "So, are you going to tell me why you practically got feathers sticking out the side of your mouth?"

Kurt glanced over at Puck and Finn first, and then smiled broadly at Mercedes.

The four of them were sitting around in the choir room as they had a free period at the same time. Kurt glanced back down at his phone and sent another text. When he got a responding chime, he looked up at his girl.

"Okay, I think it's on."

Puck eyed the slender boy and just barely held back a sigh. He so wanted to just haul Kurt into the nearest janitor's closet and kiss him clear into next week. Rubbing a hand down his mohawk, he glanced up at Kurt from beneath his brow, just in time to see Kurt quickly avert his eyes. This time he barely held back a smirk; clearly Kurt still had some… feelings… somewhere inside for him. He just prayed he wouldn't mess up again because that would be the end of things… completely.

Finn watched the – almost – interaction between his brother and his best friend and sighed. The two of them were like that magnet thingy/experiment they did in class one day. They just couldn't seem to stay apart, even if they weren't touching or kissing or anything. He kinda felt uncomfortable because – when did Puck turn gay or bi or… whatever? It was all so confusing and he had a feeling it was only going to get more intense between the two of them. He looked over at Mercedes and she, too, was watching Kurt and Puck, her eyes slightly narrowed as she gazed between them.

"Alright, so that's Friday night – and your dad is okay with a bunch of us hanging out at his house?"

Kurt rolled his eyes but nodded at her. "Of course he is, 'Cedes! I'm a very responsible person and he has no reason to expect that you're all going to trash the place." He turned steely eyes on his brother and … Puck. "Right?!"

Finn jerked and gulped before stuttering: "Uh_ ah, yeah_ uhm, no?"

Puck slapped him on his arm, causing the other teen to wince. "Get it together, Finnessa." He looked at Kurt. "Am I invited?"

Kurt stiffened and, to his chagrin, blushed. However, he lifted his chin and stared at Puck, one eyebrow raised. "Yes."

Puck nodded. "I… wasn't sure."

They stared at each other, a whole conversation shuttling between them silently until Mercedes muttered: "Jeeze, I'd say get a room but I don't want to think about that. Ugh."

She got up and walked over to the piano as Kurt and Puck turned away from each other. Finn, feeling the tension, jumped to his feet and clapped his hands together, unconsciously mimicking Mr. Schue.

"Ugh, so, guys – we doing karaoke at this thing Friday?"

Mercedes looked up from her tinkling on the piano and grinned at Kurt. "Baby boy, you and I have to do a couple of duets if there's gonna be karaoke!"

Kurt, glad for the distraction, smiled at her and nodded smugly. "I can safely say that we'll blow everyone out of the water with our awesomeness, bestie."

They chuckled and it was Puck's turn to roll his eyes. Kurt - and Rachel - never saw a party that wasn't an opportunity for karaoke. It was a little annoying but Puck secretly liked watching the two square off in their inevitable drive to one-up each other. Kurt was a bad-ass singer with a wicked range, not to mention Puck got a chance to admire the way Kurt's jeans fit him while he was doing that slight swaying thing and shoulder-shimmy he so loved to do.

He hadn't realized he was staring too intently at Kurt until the pain in his arm brought him out of his reverie to see Finn glaring at him. "Dude, what the fuck_?!"

Finn didn't answer so Puck turned away, only to see Kurt staring red-faced, at the floor. Oh. Shit, he'd done it again. _'Way to go, Puckerman,'_ he snarled inwardly at himself. If he kept up this perving on Kurt, the guy would never let him near him anytime soon.

He jumped up, grabbed his ratty backpack and muttered, "Be in the weight room," as he stalked out of the choir room. Behind him he could hear Aretha chuckling and Kurt's voice but he couldn't tell what he was saying.

As the door swung shut behind the tanned jock, Kurt glared at Finn and snarled, "What is your problem, Finn? He wasn't doing anything!"

Finn glared back at his brother, his bottom lip poking out. "Yeah, he was almost undressing you with his eyes, Kurt! I'm used to him doing that to the Cheerios but not a _" and he broke off, realizing just in time how deep he was digging himself.

Kurt's expression smoothed out and his eyes cooled. He tilted his head and ignored Mercedes' quiet, "Kurt."

"A _what_ , Finn?"

Finn gulped, his eye wide as he stared back at Kurt's implacable face. Finn knew he'd messed up but he didn't really mean anything by what he'd been about to say.

"What-what?"

Kurt narrowed his eyes and his lips curved into a little fake smile. "You were about to say you're not used to Puck doing that to a _ _what?_ "

Finn dropped his head but then straightened back up. Kurt didn't scare him… much. "Uhm, a dude. Puck's always been a stud… uh, ladies' man. Whatever you want to call it." He looked pleadingly at Kurt to take pity on him. "You know what I mean…"

Kurt wrapped his arms around himself and after a minute he nodded. "So… are you saying this weirds you out – or what, Finn?"

Finn used both hands to push through his hair and he looked up to the ceiling before looking back at Kurt and then Mercedes. He shrugged and then shoved his hands into his pocket.

"Look, I don't know what's going on, okay? I just know that, for some reason, Puck's actually into you. That stunt before… I don't know… I think he wasn't expecting to be so into you, y'know?"

Kurt's lips twisted but he glanced down at the floor before looking back at his brother. "And what… it makes you uncomfortable because it's gay? I – what – made your best friend gay?"

Finn's eyes flew wide and his jaw dropped. "No! Kurt, no! That's not what I meant!"

He noticed that Mercedes had stepped away from the piano to glare at Finn, a mother lion eyeing a threat to her cub.

Finn sighed and took a step toward Kurt. "Kurt, it weirds me out because – it's _Puck_. I just don't want him to hurt you, okay?"

Understanding dawned on both Kurt's and Mercedes' faces and Finn felt the air lighten as Kurt smiled.

"Oh. I thought_"

It was Finn's turn to frown, slight hurt in his light brown eyes. "Yeah, I know what you thought. Look, Kurt, I'm not that homopho_ ugh, homophobic jerk that I was, okay?" His lips twisted as he stared between the friends. "You know Puck's reputation. I don't want him to use you like with those girls. Some of them he doesn't even like but he still sleeps with them!"

"Not much sleeping going on from what I hear," Mercedes muttered.

"'Cedes!"

"What? The boy's a monster, Kurt; he even calls himself Puckzilla! Still, I don't get the feeling he's playing you, Kurt – not anymore."

There was silence as they digested that and Kurt finally sighed as he moved towards his messenger tote. It was five minutes before the bell would go for lunch.

The other two followed him to the door but he paused and looked back at them. "Okay, listen up: this thing between Puck and me_ I don't need anyone to make it more awkward, okay?"

Finn shrugged but nodded and Mercedes rolled her eyes. Kurt narrowed his until they both muttered 'okay'.

He strutted through the door, not noticing how they flanked him as his mind was on Puck who was presumably working off his _ frustrations _ in the weight room. Kurt felt an unwelcome though not unpleasant warmth below his navel at the thought of him being the cause of said frustration.

As he walked, a tiny smirk worked its way from his lips and settled into his eyes, causing them to glow brighter. Finally a little chuckle escaped him and he ignored the way Mercedes stared at him suspiciously.

"I can't wait for Friday night," he said to her innocently. "Can you?"

…

Burt Hummel rolled his eyes as he closed the door firmly behind the sounds coming from his own living room. There were about a dozen kids in there already and after a straight look at Kurt, he'd ushered his wife out the door. They were off for their date-night, something Kurt had insisted he institute as a way to 'bond' with his wife without kids around. Yeah, right; Burt saw it as Kurt's way to get the parents out of the way.

Carole loved the whole 'date-night' thing, though, and he couldn't bring himself to be annoyed with Kurt about it. Friday nights used to be their family night but, since Carole and Finn had come into their lives, he realized that a new family meant a new version of family night was okay. He smiled softly when he noticed the sparkle in Carole's eyes as he saw her into the car and buckled up before heading around to the driver's side. As he backed out of the driveway, he couldn't help rolling his eyes again as he saw more kids arriving at his house. His house! When did it become Party Central?

Carole chuckled and patted his hand and Burt just sighed and let it go. They were off to dinner and a movie and he was determined that she would enjoy herself. He knew Kurt wasn't a wild kid; far from it, sometimes he thought Kurt himself needed to lighten up a bit. However, the whole thing with Puckerman and the resultant drama had his dad/Spidey-senses on alert these days. He hoped Kurt and Finn would keep things under control at this 'Glee' party Kurt had come up with.

Back inside the house, Kurt grinned mischievously at Finn and the brothers high-fived each other as the front door closed behind their parents. He thought his dad would never leave!

Mercedes strolled up to him just as headlights flashed across the windows and they heard car doors slamming.

"Just how many people did you invite to this thing, Kurt?!"

Kurt, fiddling with a lock of thick brown hair that seemed to have resisted his attempts with his styling product, answered her vaguely. "Oh, just a bunch more; you'll see."

He bounced over to the front door and flung it open, welcoming in Azimio and David. He grabbed the jocks' arms in a steely grip and marched them into the front room where the rest of the glee club were lounging about and arguing over whose iPod had the best playlists. The music was already loud but, to Kurt, that was essential for a good party. That and food, he thought smugly to himself.

Across the room, Puck stifled a sigh and an eye-roll when Dave stared after Kurt as he left him and Azimio to stand around awkwardly. Finn strolled up just in time to take pity on the two and Puck took a deep draught from the contraband beer he and Finn had sneaked into Kurt's party.

Kurt had his phone out and was fiddling with it while a little mysterious smile flickered on his face - and Puck shifted uneasily. While Kurt-watching was a relatively new pastime for him, he knew enough by now to know that Kurt was up to something. That feeling in his gut never let him down and while the loud music and babble of conversations flowed around him, he kept watch. Soon, he would know just what his boy was up to.

Mercedes came out of the kitchen with another tray of those mini-quiches the girls had gushed over earlier and Puck shook his head 'no' as she came by him. He was too tense to eat, although he knew no one could tell from his customary sprawl. He was a frequent visitor to the Hudmel residence and so was quite happy to call dibs on the love seat that Kurt usually sat on when he watched Deadliest Catch with his dad. Now he sat… and waited, aaand… bingo!

Kurt's body language had altered in a subtle way that was all kinds of sexy. It was almost as if the air around him had sharpened and Puck admired the way the vest Kurt was wearing drew attention to his slender waist and almost girly hips. Puck knew just what was under those designer duds and he would give his left nut for another chance to get his hands on the boy. Still, it was too soon, he could tell.

When the doorbell rang, Puck tensed although the other kids – except Finn and Mercedes – ignored the sound. It was more of Kurt's guests, naturally, but whereas to them it wasn't important, just the way Kurt smiled now made something inside of Puck clench.

Kurt muttered 'Finally' beneath his breath and stalked to the door, unaware of the enticing twitch to his backside and the watching jock. He yanked open the door just as the second chime came.

"Hey!"

The high, excited tone finally caught the attention of the Glee clubbers and all that could be heard from the front room was the music as everyone looked towards the front door and Kurt's new guests. Kurt quickly closed the door behind them and ushered the newcomers into the room.

Kurt smiled smugly as he waved one negligent hand at the three guys standing beside him and raised his voice slightly to be heard over the music. The three strangers had small, fairly pleasant smiles on their faces as they waited for Kurt to introduce them.

"Guys, I want you to meet three fellow glee clubbers…"

There was a puzzled murmur as some of the New Directioners looked at one another, certain that they didn't know these guys from Adam.

Kurt chuckled, enjoying the curious looks in the others' eyes. "This is," and he grabbed the arm of the nearest boy, a tall, dark-skinned good-looking kid; "David, and beside him is," and he indicated a shorter, Asian kid; "Thad, and finally," and he pointed; "Blaine!"

He looked as if he was about to say 'Ta-daa!' at the end of this conjuring act and he pouted at his friends. Immediately a huge wave of "hi's" came at them and he beamed proudly. Finally he held up his hands and explained.

"I paid a visit recently to this fabulous school called Dalton Academy, over in Westerville, just in time to see these guys blow the roof off, singing my favorite Katy Perry song!" He clapped his hands and grinned, half amused at the memory and the way his friends still looked a little puzzled.

Suddenly Mercedes said: "Oh!" and flicked her eyes towards Puck. Kurt elbowed her discreetly and she jerked her eyes away from the tanned jock who was frowning intensely down at the carpet. Kurt sighed.

"Anyway, I hit it off with Blaine here and thought, wouldn't it be great if you all met!"

He didn't wait for a response and turned to the Warbler boys, morphing into the perfect host and telling them to 'sit, sit!' before asking what they wanted to drink or eat or … whatever. Finn grinned at his brother as he dashed about, making certain the new guys were comfortable and people were talking to them, not allowing them to clump together at all.

Puck looked up from the carpet to see Karofsky looking over at him with an unreadable expression in his eyes. Puck merely shrugged and took a slug of his beer again. As to that, he was sure Kurt would rip off his head when he discovered his stash but he would totally throw Finn under the bus this time. He couldn't stand it if he ended up in the dog house just when it looked like Kurt had found new, gay guys to hang with.

Kurt was about to return through the swing doors from the kitchen when Mercedes barreled in, a determined gleam in her eye. She grabbed the tray of mini pizzas Kurt had just taken out of the oven and placed it carefully on the table, all without taking her eyes from a grinning Kurt.

"Come on, Kurt; is this the reason you looked like the cat that ate the canary the other day?"

Kurt cracked up, giggling crazily while Mercedes stood before him with her hands on her ample hips. When he finally calmed down, his eyes were dancing and his cheeks flushed. She wasn't annoyed with him, not really, but she did need to get to the bottom of her boy's odd behavior.

"Oh, 'Cedes," he hiccupped as a couple of giggles escaped. "You should have seen their faces when I came in with the guys."

She grinned at him; yeah, it was pretty funny… except. "Uhm, Kurt," she said softly. "Not everyone found it funny."

Kurt sobered and sighed, looking down briefly at the cute little mini-pizzas on the large tray. "Yeah, yeah, I know. It's just…" He shrugged and straightened up, reaching for the tray again. "Look, I have a plan, okay? I just need to see if it's going to succeed, then I'll," he shrugged again. "I'll put him out of his misery, one way or another."

Mercedes' lips quirked at one side; she didn't envy Kurt's situation. While it might sound romantic in the abstract, having a hunky jock pining over you, practically, in reality it wasn't so pleasant.

She sighed. "Okay; well, I hope you know what you're doing, boo. I'd hate to see anyone get hurt in this… whatever it is."

"Soap opera?" Kurt quirked his eyebrow mischievously at her and she couldn't help grinning at him.

"Yeah, you bet it is!" She headed over to the counter and grabbed some napkins and the stack of cocktail party plates. "Come on, let's get this out there before Rachel comes bouncing in here to see if she can help!"

They chuckled together and headed outside to the party.

…

Blaine Anderson's mind was in a very pleasant whirl. When Kurt Hummel had called him seemingly out of the blue, he had no idea a week later he'd be at the boy's house, along with a couple other Warblers, in the middle of a karaoke party!

His friends seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely, with a girl on either side of them and he was sure they'd invite them to come and tour Dalton someday soon. Blaine tried to roll his eyes but he wasn't that coordinated at the moment. Trust the guys to use Dalton's awesomeness to try and get in some random girl's panties.

These New Direction kids were good; he didn't think they were quite as good as his own Warblers but they definitely had something going for them. Maybe it was that rag-tag, kinda mismatched vibe that strangely enough worked together, that made them fun to listen to and watch.

The party had moved beyond scarfing down Kurt's delicious mini-everything to the music part of the evening and Blaine was flushed from the fun of it. Not to mention the beer that someone had slipped into his hand at one point. Now he was about to sing again with one of the girls, a pushy brunette with a fantastic voice and he was in hog heaven.

One of the other reasons he was flying high, too, was the fact that one particular McKinley jock couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from him. The handsome teen would look away whenever Blaine caught his eyes and it made a little tingle go through the Warbler every time. He hadn't picked up his name as yet but he was certain he would by the end of the night.

After he sang with the mouthy girl – her name was Rachel, apparently – Kurt himself had sung with him and wow, the boy had some serious pipes! Everyone cheered and laughed and sang along – well, everyone except for the guy on the love seat that stared hungrily at Kurt the whole time. Blaine could tell, too, that Kurt was hyper-aware of the guy and he wondered what the story was there. Whew, talk about sexual tension; you could cut it with a knife, maybe slice it up and serve it like Viagra pie, he giggled to himself drunkenly.

With the lights dimmed in the place and the doors to the terrace open, the party eventually slowed to where some couples were making out, oblivious to others around them still enjoying the karaoke. Blaine took a deep breath and decided he needed some fresh air so he stepped outside and_ _whoops!_

He stepped quickly back into the shadows and, although his back bumped into a large sturdy body behind him, he kept quiet.

In front of him, half hidden near a tall, potted plant, Kurt and the brooding guy were locked in a clinch that had Blaine's breath going short. Brooding guy looked to be devouring Kurt who, with his arms wrapped tight around the guy's neck, was really giving as good as he was getting. Wow!

Blaine blushed when he definitely heard Kurt moan, staring as the two boys' bodies seemed to melt together in the dark. Large hands slid down Kurt's back and cupped his admittedly nice butt and Blaine held his breath as he watched.

Finally, realizing he was intruding and really not wanting to see any clothes come off, he turned around and ran smack into the guy who had been watching him the whole night.

Swallowing convulsively, he stared up at the guy, barely able to read his expression and realized the guy was staring, too, at Kurt and his… boyfriend?

"Uhm," Blaine started to speak after a second, only to be interrupted. Clear golden eyes stared back down at him and Blaine's heart rate sped up... Then a soft baritone voice said quietly:

"Hi, I'm Dave… Dave Karofsky."

**TBC**


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**A/N: And… that's all she wrote! Thank you so much for your kind comments and reviews.**

…

Kurt's head spun as he gave in to the feel of Noah's mouth and hands on him, his muscular body pressed tight to Kurt's. He moaned as that talented tongue sought out the tender, sensitive parts of his jaw and along his neck. Gasping for breath, he pulled back slightly to look at the handsome face before him.

Puck almost whined as Kurt moved back a bit but he couldn't hold back the smug smirk as he took in Kurt's flushed, rumpled appearance. He slid his hands up Kurt's back as the smaller boy looked back at him dazedly, enjoying the feel of the hot slender body rubbing against his as if Kurt couldn't help himself.

"No-Noah," Kurt stuttered, his voice slightly hoarse. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Noah, what are we doing?" He frowned at the feel of the large hands caressing his back and then shuddered as they slid down to cup his butt and pull him closer to the very interested body pressed to his.

Puck actually smiled before dropping a kiss on Kurt's pouty lips. "I think we're making out."

Kurt rolled his eyes although a dimple appeared in one soft cheek, indicating he was trying to suppress a smile. "No, Mr. Handsy! I mean, we're supposed to be giving each other some space, right?"

Puck's eyebrows lowered and he shook his head almost impatiently. "You were the one who crooked his finger at me and practically ordered me out here, Princess!"

Kurt blinked at him. Oh, yeah, he had done that. Well, he had intended to just talk to Noah but when they had stepped out onto the terrace – it could have been the moonlight, the setting, whatever. He had turned to say something to Noah and the big lug was just standing there, looking at him so hungrily, he found himself reaching for him. The next thing he knew, their tongues were down each other's throats. He swallowed hard as he remembered how his brain had suddenly taken a back seat to his body's baser needs and, well, Noah could really kiss! It really wasn't his fault at all.

Now he smirked at the larger boy and then leaned against him again. He looked up at him from beneath thick lashes and sighed. "Oh, well, I'm sure I'll remember what I wanted to say to you in a little while."

Puck released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and grasped Kurt's hips, pulling him in snug against his almost painfully hard erection. He smiled when Kurt's breath caught and he brought their mouths close together before murmuring, "I can try to jog your memory…"

And then they were kissing again, Kurt's hands sliding up Noah's muscular chest, one staying there and the other twining into the hairs at the taller boy's nape. Twin moans floated on the night air and neither boy realized they had company. The sounds of the party barely registered; for all they knew, they were alone in the fragrant night, doing what horny teenagers the world over were probably doing right then.

…

Blaine stared at the big, handsome boy before him and stuck out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Dave. I'm Blaine…" His heart stuttered as the large, warm hand enfolded his and he found he couldn't look away from the cute smile gracing the other boy's face.

"Yeah, I know; Kurt introduced you when you arrived."

Blaine felt his face heating up in the cool night air and he chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Oh, yeah, true, true." He nodded and felt like an idiot. He let go of Dave's hand and angled his body towards the house; Dave took the hint and fell into step beside him and they headed back inside.

Dave cleared his throat, glanced at the smaller, very pretty boy and asked, "So, you guys have a glee club, too, huh?"

Blaine grinned and looked up at him from beneath ridiculously long, shiny lashes. God, Dave was so big and sexy and he really liked his voice. He nodded as he replied, "Yeah, we're called the Dalton Warblers. You sing, too?"

"Oh, hell, no!" Dave scoffed and then immediately turned pink. He hoped he hadn't offended the other boy with the way he'd answered and rushed to explain. "Uh, uhm, no, I can't sing like Kurt and those guys… not at all!"

Blaine laughed softly as Dave babbled his explanation. "So, what – you're into sports, then?"

Dave nodded and hurried to explain he was on both the football and hockey squads. "With my size, that's all I'm good for, really."

Blaine stopped just within the doorway, a step up from the terrace which put him almost on eye level with Dave… almost. He looked up flirtatiously at the other boy and dropped his voice to a more intimate level.

"Oh, I don't know… I can think of any number of things you'd be good for."

Dave's jaw dropped and hot color flooded his cheeks as he stared at the gorgeous, exotic-looking boy before him. Was he flirting with him? Wow!

Jeeze, way to go Karofsky; you sound like an idiot. He dropped his head and then looked up back at a smiling Blaine. "Are you flirting with me?"

He hadn't meant to blurt it out like that but even in the dim light he could see the way Blaine's pupils dilated and … wow, that was really hot!

Blaine tipped his head to one side and stared back at the big jock. Dave was really making his blood hum and hey, they were teens, it was a party and he was sure Dave was attracted to him. He decided to go for it. Flicking his eyes down to Dave's lips and then back up to the clear, golden gaze, he smiled softly.

"If I am, would you be offended?"

Dave stared at him. Paul Karofsky did not raise any fools and although Dave had never been interested in anyone other than Kurt, that horse was well out the gates. The countertenor was even then doing his best to meld his and Puck's body together from what Dave had just seen. Now here was one of the cutest boys he'd ever seen sending him some serious signals. Heck no, he was not offended!

He grinned at Blaine and stepped closer but didn't step up into the room so Blaine was closer in height to him still. He raised a hand and ran it down Blaine's forearm down to his hand and intertwined their fingers. He felt a glow of triumph as a tiny shudder went through the other boy.

"Hell, no, I think I'm flattered that a guy like you would be into someone like me…" Dave murmured, matching Blaine's intimate tones. He smiled softly as he felt Blaine's fingers tighten around his.

Blaine swayed slightly towards Dave and who knew what he would have done if his thrice-damned friends hadn't suddenly appeared on either side of him just then.

"Hey, Anderson! Where've you been, bro?"

Thad's loud voice effectively shattered the mood and Blaine jerked at the suddenness of it. He frowned as David's long arm went around his shoulder and a red cup was shoved into his unsuspecting hand.

"Hey, drink up, young Warbler; we'll be heading out in another hour or so!" David's slightly tipsy grin gleamed brightly from his dark-skinned face.

Blaine grimaced, threw a little glance at Dave and shrugged off David's arm. "Guys, I was actually trying to hold a conversation here!"

Thad and David exchanged amused glances as they took in the other two boys' body language and Thad laughed obnoxiously. "Ho-ho! Whoops, did we just cock-block you guys? Our bad!"

Blaine felt himself go red and he dropped his head, shaking it slowly and not daring to look at Dave.

Dave watched the three boys with a slightly amused air. Okay, at least he was certain now that Blaine wasn't romantically linked to either of those clowns and he grinned now as he looked at Blaine's bowed head.

"Hey, give me your phone," he said as Blaine's friends moved away, and smiled wider as Blaine's head came up quickly.

"Uhm, yeah, okay – uhm, hold this," and he shoved the red cup that looked like it had illicit beer in it and slid his hand into his jeans for his phone. Slipping it out, he handed it to Dave and took back the cup, absentmindedly lifting it to his lips before grimacing.

Dave chuckled as he quickly input his name and phone number, called his own phone and then handed back the phone to the shorter boy.

Blaine slid the phone back into his pocket and then cleared his throat, his face still slightly pink from his friends' antics.

Dave smiled at him, stepped inside and said, "If you don't like the beer – and I think that must be Puck's contribution – I can see if Kurt has more soda inside."

Blaine nodded eagerly and followed Dave in the direction of the kitchen. Once there, Dave marched over to the refrigerator and retrieved two cans of soda for them. They leaned against the counter and sipped the cold beverage as a slightly awkward silence descended.

"So_"

"So_"

They both broke off, waited and then burst into chuckles, Blaine subsiding first.

"I was going to ask if you'd want to take in a movie with me sometime."

Dave, still smiling and enjoying the sparkle in Blaine's eyes, nodded. "Yeah, I'd definitely like that."

They stared at each other, smiling goofily. When they realized what they were doing, they both grinned wider and then went back to sipping their sodas.

Finally Dave indicated the door with his can and when Blaine nodded, they headed back out to the party.

Kurt and Puck were back inside, looking decidedly more wrinkled but Blaine simply smiled while Dave acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. In fact, the sight of Kurt looking less than pristine made a little twinge tighten his gut but, after taking a deep breath and looking down at the dark, gleaming head beside him, he let it go.

He was glad that Kurt and Puckerman seemed to have moved beyond that whole mess. The two of them had this really intense chemistry going on between them and it was painful watching them trying to avoid it or pretend it wasn't there.

After watching that little interlude out there on the terrace, Dave realized he would never have had a chance with the slender singer. Now, it would only take him a little time to get over his crush because, what do you know, a really cute and talented boy just came onto him and he hadn't even had to lift a finger.

...

Across the room, Kurt looked up when Dave and Blaine came from out of the kitchen and he tilted his head as he watched the subtle body language between the two. _Yes!_ Kurt Hummel knew what he was about; those tiny glances the two boys thought they were being so coy about only confirmed it.

He squeezed Noah's arm and rested his head against the jock's shoulder. When Puck had moved back toward the love seat, Kurt had immediately sat beside him, almost in his lap and he smirked when he noticed Mercedes eyeing him with bright eyes. He gave her a discreet little nod and her blinding smile made him grin back smugly.

As he listened to Rachel belting out yet another Streisand song, complete with her standard over-emoting, he admitted that life was way too short to hang on to the hurt. He'd once read that refusing to forgive someone was like swallowing poison and expecting the other person to fall ill. He could go on punishing Noah for his stupid behavior and poor choices, or he could forgive him and move on.

He glanced up just in time to see the brown eyes looking back at him and he smiled softly. Quirking an eyebrow, he leaned into Noah and whispered beneath the sound of the music.

"You do know that if you ever hurt me again, I will castrate you, right?"

There was a hint of steel beneath the outrageous statement and Puck's eyes widened as he stared into the beautiful ones before him.

"Uhm, uh, ye-ahh?" He stuttered and then swallowed, wondering if maybe he'd caught a tiger by the tail. Kurt could give off that ice queen vibe like no one else. Beneath that, though, Puck knew was a river of lava, heat that surfaced when they were wrapped around each other. It all translated to a fascinating package, a person who was more than a match for him.

Kurt stroked one long finger down the side of Noah's face, oblivious to whether anyone was watching. He stared into his eyes and then smiled, letting all the things he felt for Noah show. He chuckled when the other boy gulped.

Patting Noah's face, Kurt leaned in and whispered, "Don't worry, sweetie; you be a good boy and I'll take care of you…"

Puck shuddered as Kurt's soft lips brushed his ear, the soft breath causing a shiver to go through him. He turned his head just as Kurt was about to lean back and let his mouth brush against Kurt's. He held him there for just seconds but it felt so much longer as the sounds faded from around them.

Sure there was a hint of passion behind the kiss but Puck knew there was also gratitude. Kurt had decided to forgive him and to move on with what they had started all those weeks ago.

What had started out as a stupid bet made by callow boys had brought Puck something infinitely more precious… and he was not going to squander it.

Leaning back, he smiled at the beautiful boy before him and when Kurt smiled back, he nodded once, relief and happiness mingling together.

Lesson learned.

**The End**


End file.
